Abstract:
A method for identifying and using traffic information including media information is includes receiving traffic data for a location, the traffic data including a media object and a media-type identifier that enables a determination of a type associated with the media object. The method also includes determining, based on the media-type identifier, the type of the media object included within the received traffic data and identifying the media object within the received traffic data. The method further includes enabling retrieval of the media object based in part on the identified media object.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present application claims priority from U.S. provisional application No. 60/684,971 filed May 27, 2005, which is titled “Method for transmitting multimedia data,” and the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. The present application also claims priority to Korean application No. 10-2005-0098754 filed Oct. 19, 2005, the entire contents of which is incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     1. Field  
         [0003]     This disclosure relates to encoding and decoding traffic information that includes media information associated with traffic information or locations.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     With the advancement in digital signal processing and communication technologies, radio and TV broadcasts are being digitalized. Digital broadcasting enables provision of various information (e.g., news, stock prices, weather, traffic information, etc.) as well as audio and video content.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]     In one general aspect a method for identifying and using traffic information including media information is provided. The method includes receiving traffic data for a location, the traffic data including a media object and a media-type identifier that enables a determination of a type associated with the media object. The method also includes determining, based on the media-type identifier, the type of the media object included within the received traffic data and identifying the media object within the received traffic data. The method further includes enabling retrieval of the media object based in part on the identified media object.  
         [0007]     Implementations may include one or more additional features. For instance, in the method, media within the media object may represent traffic conditions experienced at the location. Media within the media object may represent weather conditions experienced at the location. Media within the media object may represent attractions found at the location. An indication of a length of the received traffic data and a size related to the media object may be received.  
         [0008]     Also, in the method, receiving traffic data for a location may include receiving a media-format identifier that enables determination of a format of the media object. Identifying the media object may include identifying, based on both of the determined type of the media object and the media-format identifier, the format of the media object included within the received traffic data. Enabling retrieval of the media object may include enabling retrieval of the media object based in part on the identified format of the media object. The media-type identifier may enable a determination that the media object is one of several media types indicated by the media-type identifier. The several media types may include at least one of audio media, visual media, video media, audio visual media, and hypertext media.  
         [0009]     The method may include determining, based on the media-type identifier, that the media object is audio media and may include determining, based on the determination that the media object is audio media and based on the media-format identifier included in the traffic data, whether the media object is formatted according to at least one of MPEG 1 audio layer I, MPEG I audio layer II, MPEG 1 audio layer III and uncompressed PCM audio.  
         [0010]     The method may also include determining, based on the media-type identifier, that the media object is visual media and may also include determining, based on the determination that the media object is visual media and based on the media-format identifier included in the traffic data, whether the media object is formatted according to at least one of GIF, JFIF, BMP, PNG, and MNG.  
         [0011]     The method may further include determining, based on the media-type identifier, that the media object is video media and may further include determining, based on the determination that the media object is visual media and based on the media-format identifier included in the traffic data, whether the media object is at least one of MPEG 1 video, MPEG 2 video, MPEG 4 video, H.263, and H.264.  
         [0012]     The method may also include determining, based on the media-type identifier, that the media object is audio visual media and may also include determining, based on the determination that the media object is audio visual media and based on the media-format identifier included in the traffic data, whether the media object is formatted according to at least one of AV1, ASF, WMV and MOV.  
         [0013]     The method may further include determining, based on the media-type identifier, that the media object is hypertext media and may further include determining, based on the determination that the media object is hypertext media and based on the media-format identifier included in the traffic data, whether the media object is at least one of HTML and XML.  
         [0014]     Also, the method may further include receiving information corresponding to a message management structure including information corresponding to a generation time of information reflected in the traffic data. The generation time included within the received message management structure may relate to a plurality of message component structures that correspond to more than one of a predicted or current traffic tendency, a predicted or current amount of traffic, a predicted or current speed, or a predicted or current time to traverse a particular link. One or more of the message component structures may be associated with the information corresponding to media.  
         [0015]     In another general aspect, a traffic information communication device for identifying and using traffic information including media information is provided. The device includes a data receiving interface configured to receive media information corresponding to a location including a media object and a media-type identifier that enables a determination of a type associated with the media object. The device also includes a processing device configured to process the received media information.  
         [0016]     Implementations may include one or more additional features. For instance, the media within the media object may represent at least one of traffic conditions experienced at the location, weather conditions experienced at the location, and attractions found at the location. The processing device may be configured to receive traffic data including information corresponding to a version number of information reflected in the traffic data. The version number may be associated with a specific syntax of the data where any one of multiple syntaxes may be used. The processing device may be configured to receive information corresponding to a message management structure including information corresponding to a generation time of information reflected in the traffic data. The processing device may be configured to receive information corresponding to a length of the received data and an indication of size related to the media object.  
         [0017]     In the device, the data receiving interface may be further configured to receive media information corresponding to a location including a media-format identifier that enables determination of a format of the media object and the processing device may be further configured to process the received media information and to determine media information based at least in part on the information received. The processing device may be configured to enable a determination, based on the media-type identifier, that the media object is one of several media types indicated by the media-type identifier, wherein the several media types include at least one of audio media, visual media, video media, audio visual media, and hypertext media.  
         [0018]     Also, in the method, the processing device may be configured to determine, based on the media-type identifier, that the media object is audio media. The processing device may be configured to enable a determination, based on the determination that the media object is audio media and based on the media-format identifier included in the traffic data, of whether the media object is formatted according to at least one of MPEG 1 audio layer I, MPEG I audio layer II, MPEG 1 audio layer III and uncompressed PCM audio.  
         [0019]     Further, in the method, the processing device may be configured to determine, based on the media-type identifier, that the media object is visual media. The processing device may be configured to enable a determination, based on the determination that the media object is visual media and based on the media-format identifier included in the traffic data, of whether the media object is formatted according to at least one of GIF, JFIF, BMP, PNG, and MNG.  
         [0020]     Also, in the method, the processing device may be configured to determine, based on the media-type identifier, that the media object is video media. The processing device may be configured to enable a determination, based on the determination that the media object is visual media and based on the media-format identifier included in the traffic data, of whether the media object is at least one of MPEG 1 video, MPEG 2 video, MPEG 4 video, H.263, and H.264.  
         [0021]     Further, in the method, the processing device may be configured to determine, based on the media-type identifier, that the media object is audio visual media. The processing device may be configured to enable a determination, based on the determination that the media object is audio visual media and based on the media-format identifier included in the traffic data, of whether the media object is formatted according to at least one of AV1, ASF, WMV and MOV.  
         [0022]     Also, in the method, the processing device may be configured to determine, based on the media-type identifier, that the media object is hypertext media. The processing device may be configured to enable a determination, based on the determination that the media object is hypertext media and based on the media-format identifier included in the traffic data, of whether the media object is at least one of HTML and XML.  
         [0023]     In a further general aspect a traffic information communication device for identifying and using traffic information including media information is provided. The device includes means for receiving traffic data for a location, the traffic data including a media object and a media-type identifier that enables a determination of a type associated with the media object and means for determining, based on the media-type identifier, the type of the media object included within the received traffic data. The device also includes means for identifying the media object within the received traffic data and means for enabling retrieval of the media object based in part on the identified the media object.  
         [0024]     Implementations may include one or more additional features. For instance, means for receiving traffic data for a location may include means for receiving a media-format identifier that enables determination of a format of the media object. Means for identifying the media object may include means for identifying, based on both of the determined type of the media object and the media-format identifier, the format of the media object included within the received traffic data. Means for enabling retrieval of the media object may include means for enabling retrieval of the media object  
         [0025]     The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0026]      FIG. 1  illustrates a network over which traffic information is provided;  
         [0027]      FIG. 2  illustrates a format of the traffic information transmitted by radio;  
         [0028]      FIGS. 3A-3D  illustrate a transmission format of a congestion traffic information component included in a CTT event container;  
         [0029]      FIG. 3A  illustrates syntax of the congestion traffic information component included in the CTT event container;  
         [0030]      FIGS. 3B through 3D  illustrate syntax of status components including information relating to a section mean speed, a section travel-time, and a flow status in the component of  FIG. 3A , respectively;  
         [0031]      FIG. 4  illustrates a syntax of an additional information component that may be included in the CTT event container;  
         [0032]      FIG. 5  illustrates a multimedia data component added to the CTT event container;  
         [0033]      FIGS. 6A through 6E  illustrate a syntax of CTT components, included in the CTT event container, carrying various multimedia data;  
         [0034]      FIGS. 7A through 7E  illustrate a table defining a type of the multimedia, respectively; and  
         [0035]      FIG. 8  illustrates a structure of a navigation terminal for receiving traffic information from a server. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0036]     One such use for digital broadcasts is to satisfy an existing demand for traffic information. Proposals that involve the use of digital broadcasts for this purpose contemplate the use of standardized formatting of traffic information to be broadcast. This approach may be used to enable the use of traffic information receiving terminals made by different manufacturers, which each could be configured to detect and interpret traffic information broadcast in the same way.  
         [0037]     A process of encoding and decoding traffic information using a radio signal is described with reference to  FIG. 1 , which schematically depicts a network over which the traffic information is provided according to an implementation. In the network  101  of  FIG. 1 , by way of example, a traffic information providing server  210  of a broadcasting station reconfigures various congestion traffic information aggregated from an operator&#39;s input, another server over the network  101 , or a probe car and broadcasts the reconfigured information by radio so that a traffic information receiving terminal such as a navigation device installed to a car  200  may receive the information.  
         [0038]     The congestion traffic information broadcast by the traffic information providing server  100  via radio waves includes a sequence of message segments (hereafter, referred to as Transport Protocol Expert Group (TPEG) messages) as shown in  FIG. 2 . Among the sequence, one message segment, that is, the TPEG message includes a message management container  21 , a congestion and travel-time information (CTT or CTI) event container  22 , and a TPEG location container  23 . It is noted that a TPEG message  30  conveying traffic information other than the CTT event, e.g., road traffic message (RTM) event, public transport information (PTI), weather information (WEA) are included in the sequence.  
         [0039]     Overall contents relating to the message may be included in the message management container  21 . Information relating to a message identification (ID), a version number, date and time, and a message generation time may be included in the message management container  21 . The CTT event container  22  includes current traffic information of each link (road section) and additional information. The TPEG location container  23  includes location information relating to the link.  
         [0040]     The CTT event container  22  may include a plurality of CTT components. If the CTT component includes the congestion traffic information, the CTT component is assigned an ID of 80h and includes status components indicative of the section mean speed, the section travel-time, and the retardation. In the description, specific IDs are described as assignments to structures associated with specific information. The actual value of an assigned ID (e.g., 80h) is exemplary, and different implementations may assign different values for specific associations or circumstances. Thus, the CTT components and status components may be used to provide various different types of data that may be signaled based on an identifier. For example,  FIG. 3B  and  FIG. 6A  illustrate a component with an identifier of 00 and 8B signaling, respectfully, speed and image media information.  
         [0041]     In one implementation, the CTT event container  22  includes one or more CTT components that include a status information  24  portion, and a multimedia descriptor  25  portion that corresponds to the status information  24  portion. The status information  24  portion may include information directed to the status of a specific link or location. For example, the status information portion  24  may specify a level of traffic congestion, a speed of a link, or a travel time to traverse a link. The multimedia descriptor  25  portion includes one or more multimedia objects, such as, for example audio, video, images, hypertext, or a combination thereof, that may correspond to one more links and locations.  FIG. 2  shows an image object  26  and an audio object  27  as an example of the contents of the multimedia descriptor  25 . The image object  26  and the audio object  27  may be configured to be rendered concurrently.  
         [0042]      FIG. 3A  illustrates syntax of the congestion traffic information component. The ID of 80h is assigned to the congestion traffic information component as indicated by  3   a , more than one (m-ary) status components are included as indicated by  3   c , and a field is included to represent the total data size of the included status components in bytes as indicated by  3   b.    
         [0043]     Each status component includes the information relating to the section mean speed, the section travel-time, and/or the retardation as the syntax as shown in  FIGS. 3B through 3D . An ID of 00 is assigned to the section mean speed, an ID of 01 is assigned to the section travel-time, and an ID of 02 is assigned to the retardation.  
         [0044]     If an ID of 8Ah is assigned, the CTT component includes additional information or auxiliary information relating to the traffic information in a text form.  FIG. 4  depicts syntax of the additional information component included in the CTT event container. The additional information component is assigned the ID of 8Ah as indicated by  4   a , and includes a language code indicated by  4   c , additional information configured in text form indicated by  4   d , and a field representing the total data size of the components in bytes as indicated by  4   b.    
         [0045]     Since the message carried in the CTT event container is subordinate to the location information, the CTT message includes the location information. If the CTT component includes location information, the CTT component is assigned an ID of  90   h  and includes more than one TPEG location sub-container TPEG_loc_container.  
         [0046]     According to an implementation, to transmit multimedia data, a multimedia CTT component relating to, for example, still image, audio, video, A/V, and hypertext, is included with the CTT event container as shown in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0047]     Such a multimedia CTT component may include contents relating to the congestion traffic information component currently transmitted, e.g., still image, audio, and video such as animation that have different contents according to, for example, the section mean speed. For example, in one implementation, if a mean speed is below a threshold, a still image depicting slow moving traffic is included in the multimedia CTT component. If the mean speed is above the threshold, a still image depicting fast moving traffic is included in the multimedia CTT component.  
         [0048]     Also, the multimedia CTT component may include contents relating to the location information transmitted together with the congestion traffic information. In more detail, the information as to the location of the congestion traffic information currently transmitted, such as, surrounding traffic condition, gas station, parking lot, historic place, accommodations, shopping facility, food, language (dialect) may be transmitted in the form of audio, video, and still image. For example, in one implementation, a location along a landmark may include a multimedia component associated with the location. Specifically, a CTT component associated with a link along the Washington Monument may include a multimedia CTT component including an image of the monument. Also, in various implementations, an image may be transmitted depicted various icons detailing the existence of structures at or near a location. Specifically, a multimedia CTT component may include an image depicting an icon for a restaurant, parking, and a shopping mall for a location including such features.  
         [0049]     Moreover, the multimedia CTT component may include data representing contents as to a date and time corresponding to the current congestion traffic information, for example, weather, historical events which occurred on that day, in the multimedia such as audio, video, and still image. In one implementation, if a location is experiencing severe weather, a video may be included in a multimedia CTT component summarizing a weather report for the location.  
         [0050]      FIGS. 6A through 6E  depict structures of the CTT component which is included in the CTT event container and transmits various multimedia data.  
         [0051]     In various implementations, the still image component in  FIG. 6A  is assigned an ID of 8Bh, and may include a field representing the total data size of the component in bytes, a still image type &lt;cti03&gt;, a field representing the data size of the still image in bytes, still image data. In particular, the field representing the total data size may represent the total amount of data including individual portions of data associated with the field representing the data size of the still image, the still image type &lt;cti03&gt;, and the still image data.  
         [0052]     The audio component in  FIG. 6B  is assigned an ID of 8Ch, and may include a field representing the total data size of the component in bytes, an audio type &lt;cti04&gt;, a field representing the size of the audio data in bytes, and audio data.  
         [0053]     The video component in  FIG. 6C  is assigned an ID of 8Dh, and may include a field representing the total data size of the component in bytes, a video audio type &lt;cti05&gt;, a field representing the size of the video data in bytes, and video data.  
         [0054]     The A/V component in  FIG. 6D  is assigned an ID of 8Eh, and may include a field representing the total data size of the component in bytes, an A/V type &lt;cti06&gt;, a field representing the size of the A/V data in bytes, and audio data.  
         [0055]     The hyper text component in  FIG. 6E  is assigned an ID of 8Fh, and may include a field representing the total data size of the component in bytes, a hyper text type &lt;cti07&gt;, a field representing the size of the hyper text data in bytes, and hyper text data.  
         [0056]     The size of the multimedia data such as the still image, the audio, the video, the A/V, and the hypertext included in each multimedia component can be derived from the field representing the total data size of the component. Thus, the field representing the size of the multimedia data included in the multimedia component may be omitted.  
         [0057]      FIGS. 6A-6E  are example structures included in the CTT event container configured to transmit various multimedia data, and other or different structures may be included. For example, an animation component enabling the display of a software based animation may be included.  
         [0058]     According to one implementation, &lt;cti03&gt;, &lt;cti04&gt;, &lt;cti05&gt;, &lt;cti06&gt;, and &lt;cti07&gt; define the type of the still image, the audio, the video, the A/V, and the hypertext, respectively.  FIGS. 7A through 7E  show tables defining kinds of the multimedia type, respectively.  
         [0059]     Referring to  FIG. 7A , the still image type &lt;cti03&gt; arranges GIF, JFIF, BMP, PNG, MNG and the like, with 0 through 4 assigned respectively. In  FIG. 7B , the audio type &lt;cti04&gt; arranges MPEG 1 audio layer I, MPEG 1 audio layer II, MPEG 1 audio layer III, Uncompressed PCM audio and the like, with 0 through 3 assigned respectively.  
         [0060]     In  FIG. 7C , the video type &lt;cti05&gt; arranges MPEG 1 video, MPEG 2 video, MPEG 4 video, H.263, H.264 and the like, with 0 through 4 assigned respectively. In  FIG. 7D , the A/V type &lt;cti06&gt; arranges AVI, ASF, WMV, MOV and the like, with 0 through 3 assigned respectively. In  FIG. 7E , the hypertext type &lt;cti07&gt; arranges HTML, XML and the like, with 0 and 1 assigned respectively.  
         [0061]     It should be appreciated that the IDs 8B through 8F assigned to the multimedia components, the tables &lt;cti03&gt; through &lt;cti07&gt; defining the type of the multimedia, and the kinds and the codes arranged in the tables are exemplified to ease understanding. Thus, they are not limited to any examples and can be changed.  
         [0062]     Instead of assigning a separate component ID to each multimedia data, all the multimedia data may be carried by a multimedia component having the same ID. More specifically, the ID of 8Bh, for example, is assigned to a multimedia component including the multimedia data, the tables defining the kinds of the multimedia data types in  FIGS. 7A through 7E  are combined to a single table, and the single table, for example, &lt;cit03&gt; defines the types of the multimedia data.  
         [0063]     In &lt;cti03&gt; defining the types of the multimedia data, a range of a value may be classified and defined for each multimedia data kind. By way of example, the still image type is ‘0Xh’, the audio type is ‘1Xh’, the video type is ‘2Xh’, the A/V type is ‘3Xh’, and the hypertext type ‘4Xh’ (X ranges from 0 to F). As a result, a decoder may confirm the kind of the multimedia data based on the type of the multimedia data included in the multimedia component.  
         [0064]     The server  100  may configure the current congestion traffic information and the location information as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 6  according to the current traffic information aggregated through several paths and a stored traffic information database, and may transmit the configured information to the traffic information receiving terminal. Additionally, the server  100  may convert contents relating to the traffic information to various multimedia data such as text, still image, audio, video, A/V, hyper text and the like, and may load the converted multimedia data in the component to transmit, a shown in  FIG. 4  or  FIGS. 5A through 5E .  
         [0065]      FIG. 8  depicts a structure of a navigation terminal installed to a vehicle to receive the traffic information from the server  100  according to an implementation.  FIG. 8  is an example implementation of a system for receiving and utilizing traffic information. Other systems may be organized differently or include different components.  
         [0066]     In  FIG. 8 , the navigation terminal includes a tuner  210 , a demodulator  220 , a TPEG decoder  230 , a global positioning system (GPS) module  280 , a storage structure  240 , an input device  290 , a navigation engine  250 , a memory  250   a , a display panel  270 , and a panel driver  260 . The tuner  210  outputs the modulated traffic information signal by tuning a signal band over which the traffic information is transmitted. The demodulator  220  outputs the traffic information signal by demodulating the modulated traffic information signal. The TPEG decoder  230  acquires various traffic information by decoding the demodulated traffic information signal. The GPS module  280  receives satellite signals from a plurality of low earth orbit satellites and acquires the current location (longitude, latitude, and height). The storage structure  240  stores a digital map including information about links and nodes, and diverse graphical information. The input device  290  receives a user&#39;s input. The navigation engine  250  controls an output to the display based on the user&#39;s input, the current location, and the acquired traffic information. The memory  250   a  temporarily stores data. The display panel  270  displays video. The display panel  270  may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) or organic light emitting diodes (OLED). The panel drive  260  applies a driving signal corresponding to graphical presentation to be displayed to the display panel  270 . The input device  290  may be a touch screen equipped to the display panel  270 .  
         [0067]     The navigation engine  250  may include a decoding module for various multimedia data to reproduce the multimedia data received together with the traffic information.  
         [0068]     The tuner  210  tunes the signal transmitted from the server  100 , and the demodulator  220  demodulates and outputs the tuned signal according to a preset scheme. Next, the TPEG decoder  230  decodes the demodulated signal to the TPEG message sequence as configured in  FIG. 2 , analyzes TPEG messages in the message sequence, and then provides the navigation engine  250  with the necessary information and/or the control signal according to the message contents.  
         [0069]     The TPEG decoder  230  extracts the data/time and the message generation time from the message management container in each TPEG message, and checks whether a subsequent container is the CTT event container based on the ‘message element’ (i.e. an identifier). If the CTT event container follows, the TPEG decoder  230  provides the navigation engine  250  with the information acquired from the CTT components in the container so that the navigation engine  250  takes charge of the display of the traffic information and/or the reproduction of the multimedia data. Providing the navigation engine  250  with the information may include determining, based on identifiers, that the traffic information includes a message management container including status information within various message components within the message management container. The components may each include different status information associated with different links or locations and identifiers associated with the different status information. The containers and components may each include information associated with a generation time, version number, data length, and identifiers of included information.  
         [0070]     The TPEG decoder  230  checks based on the ID in the CTT component whether the CTT component includes the congestion traffic information, the additional information, or the multimedia data. The TPEG decoder  230  analyzes the congestion traffic information or the additional information included in the CTT component and provides the analyzed information to the navigation engine  250 . Also, the TPEG decoder  230  checks the kind and the type of the multimedia data included in the CTT component using the ID and/or the type information included in the CTT component, and provides the checked kind and/or type to the navigation engine  250 . The multimedia data is extracted from the CTT component and also provided to the navigation engine  250 . The TPEG decoder  230  manages the tables in relation to the kinds and/or the types of the multimedia data.  
         [0071]     The TPEG decoder  230  acquires location information corresponding to the current traffic information from the subsequent TPEG location container. According to the type information of the TPEG location container, the location information may coordinate (longitude and latitude) of start and end points or the link, i.e., the link ID assigned to the road section.  
         [0072]     When the storage structure  240  is equipped, the navigation engine  250  specifies a section corresponding to the received information in reference to the information relating to the links and the nodes in the storage structure  240 , and if necessary, may utilize the coordinates of the received link by converting the coordinates to the link ID or converting the link ID to the coordinates.  
         [0073]     The navigation engine  250  may read out from the storage structure  240  the digital map of a certain area based on the current coordinates which may be received from the GPS module  280 , and may display the digital map on the display panel  270  via the panel drive  260 . In doing so, the place corresponding to the current location may be marked by a specific graphical symbol.  
         [0074]     The navigation engine  250  ma control display of the section mean speed information received from the TPEG decoder  230  in the section corresponding to the coordinates or the link ID of the location container which follows the container carrying the section mean speed information. The section mean speed may be displayed by changing colors or indicating numbers to the corresponding sections. By way of example of the ordinary road, the red denotes 0˜10 km/h, the orange denotes 10˜20 km/h, the green denotes 20˜40 km/h, and the blue denotes more than 40 km/h.  
         [0075]     A terminal without the storage structure  240  storing the digital map may display the section mean speed by colors or by numbers with respect to only links ahead of the current path. When the path of the vehicle having the navigation terminal is designated in advance, the section mean speed may be displayed with respect to the links along the path, rather than the links ahead.  
         [0076]     According to the user&#39;s request, the navigation engine  250  may control the display panel  270  to display the section travel-time and the retardation of links received from the TPEG decoder  230 , instead of or together with the section mean speed.  
         [0077]     When the navigation engine  250  is equipped with a decoding module capable of reproducing the multimedia data, the navigation engine  250  may inform from the TPEG decoder  230 , of the kind of the multimedia CTT component (e.g., audio component, video component, etc.), and the type of the corresponding multimedia data (e.g., GIF, BMP, etc. of the still image), and may control the decoding module. Thus, the multimedia data provided from the TPEG decoder  230  may be reproduce though the display panel  270  and/or a speaker.  
         [0078]     If the multimedia data includes a video, the video may be displayed on the display panel  270  as a whole or in a small window on the display panel  270 .  
         [0079]     In light of the foregoing as set forth above, the traffic-related information is transmitted in the multimedia form so that the user may intuitively acquire the traffic conditions.  
         [0080]     In broadcast systems that include interactive media, further steps may be included. In particular, a step of requesting a media format or other identifier, may be included. A media format identifier may be selected by a mobile station or other device.  
         [0081]     Furthermore, since the traffic-related information is provided in the multimedia form without modifying the TPEG standard, the TPEG standard may be expanded.  
         [0082]     Although various implementations have been shown and described, it will be appreciated that changes may be made in these implementations.