Abstract:
A method of displaying an interactive geographical representation associated with a video content item is described. The method includes: playing the video content item, wherein the video content item includes at least one scene; requesting relevant metadata associated with the at least one video scene, the relevant metadata including a geographical representation and geolocation metadata associated with the at least video scene; receiving the relevant metadata; and displaying an interactive geographical representation along with at least one visual indication, wherein the at least one visual indication is associated with the at least one video scene and positioned at a location indicated by the geolocation metadata. Related systems, apparatus and methods are also described.

Description:
The present application is a submission under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/IB2012/054578, filed 5 Sep. 2012 and published in the English language on 14 Mar. 2013 with publication no. WO 2013/035046 A1, which claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Ser. No. 61/573,536, filed 8 Sep. 2011. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for dynamic and optimal display of geographical information related to a video content item. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In digital devices, a user interface (UI) is used to provide an easy and efficient way to use the digital device and information. A user manually moves a pointer using an input unit such as a keypad, keyboard or mouse, and can command a digital device to perform a desired operation by selecting a graphics object indicated by the pointer. A UI is typically displayed on the device&#39;s screen and navigated via a client device (e.g. a Set-Top Box). Increasingly ubiquitous companion devices such as computers, mobile telephones, tablet computers or other suitable handheld devices can also be used now for UI viewing and/or navigation. Depending on the companion device used, such UIs are usually navigated using a variety of tools including, for example, a computer mouse for a computer, keypads buttons for a mobile telephone, or even the user&#39;s fingers for UIs that support direct manipulation. 
     Different menus and/or applications are also accessible through a UI and provide the user with additional information related to a particular television program. A user can now browse the UI to know more about, for example, the characters, the actors, the director, etc. of a particular television program. 
     Hence, using a companion device as a second display may be useful to display the UI itself and/or additional information related to a particular television program, thereby providing the user with an enhanced viewing experience. Indeed, the television can be viewed in an optimal manner (e.g. in full size on a first display) while displaying additional information on a second display. Furthermore, a significant amount of additional information may be used to enhance the user&#39;s viewing experience. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,741,790 of Red Hen Systems Inc. describes a hardware device ( 40 ) and software, which are configurable and operable in three modes: recording mode, indexing mode, and playback mode. In the recording mode, the hardware device ( 40 ) is connected to a GPS receiver ( 44 ) and video recording device ( 42 ), and permits GPS data to be recorded on the same recording medium that images are recorded on using the video recording device ( 42 ). As a result, a particular geographic location associated with particular images can be directly referenced by GPS data. After recording the images, the hardware device ( 40 ) is connected to a computer ( 46 ) having the software of the present invention installed, and the system causes GPS data to be transferred from the recording medium to the computer ( 46 ) as the recorded images are replayed. During this step, called the indexing mode, the computer ( 46 ) draws a map showing all of the GPS referenced locations recorded on the recording medium. Each map location represents a location where images were recorded with GPS data. Once the indexing mode is completed, the system can be used to play back the images recorded, in accordance with the selection of a location on a map. During this step, called the playback mode, a marker may be selected on the computer ( 46 ) generated indexed map, and the system will cause the video recording device ( 42 ) to play back the images that were recorded at that selected location. Alternatively, if the recorded images have been transferred to some other media, for example CD ROM or hard disk, the system will cause the computer ( 46 ) to play back the images that were recorded at that selected location. 
     U.S. Published Patent Application 2002/0048054 of Ohata et al., describes an on-demand image delivery server delivering designated image data based on a request from a client terminal with one or a plurality of retrieval items as a retrieval condition inputted from the client terminal, made up by a retrieval function portion, which retrieves one or a plurality of image resource databases, and a retrieval result displaying function portion, which displays on the screen of the client terminal for confirmation of contents of image data subject to delivery, simplified image data of the image data matching a retrieval condition and/or data regarding attached contents-related information. 
     U.S. Published Patent Application 2011/0148936 of Apple Inc., describes systems and techniques for associating and presenting media content items with locations on a geographical track path. For example, the frames of a video segment can be associated with locations on a track path. The track path can be based on position data, including position coordinates and a corresponding time coordinates, obtained while the video frames were captured. Locations for the video frames can be determined based on a start time of the video segment, a frame rate of the video segment, and the position data. The video segment can be displayed with user controls that enable a user to manipulate the frame of the video segment being displayed including a time indicator and a location indicator displayed on the track path. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     There is thus provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention a method of displaying an interactive geographical representation associated with a video content item, the method including: playing the video content item, wherein the video content item includes at least one scene; requesting relevant metadata associated with the at least one video scene, the relevant metadata including a geographical representation and geolocation metadata associated with the at least video scene; receiving the relevant metadata; and displaying an interactive geographical representation along with at least one visual indication, wherein the at least one visual indication is associated with the at least one video scene and positioned at a location indicated by the geolocation metadata. 
     Further, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: retrieving a time elapsed since a start time for the video content item; and identifying at least one video scene according to the elapsed time, the identified at least one video scene corresponding to a video scene of the video content item displayed at the elapsed time. 
     Still further, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the receiving the relevant metadata includes receiving, for at least one video scene, one or more of: a thumbnail image; a summary; geolocation metadata; a geographical representation; and a scale factor. 
     Additionally, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the displaying the interactive geographical representation includes centering the interactive geographical representation on the location indicated by the geolocation metadata. 
     Further, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one visual indication is a thumbnail image characterizing the at least one video scene. 
     Still further, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: receiving an input relevant to the interactive geographical representation displayed along with the at least one visual indication; updating the interactive geographical representation in response to the input; and displaying the updated interactive geographical representation. 
     Additionally, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the receiving an input includes receiving a user input requesting further information associated with the at least one visual indication. 
     Further, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the receiving an input includes receiving a user input requesting displaying the interactive geographical representation according to a different scale factor. 
     Still further, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the receiving an input includes receiving an input signaling a video scene change. 
     Additionally, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the playing the video content item includes playing the video content item at a first device; and the displaying an interactive geographical representation includes displaying an interactive geographical representation at a second device. 
     Further, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the video content item is an event requested by a user. 
     Still further, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the first device is a client device. 
     Additionally, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the receiving an input and the displaying the updated interactive geographical representation include receiving an input and displaying the updated interactive geographical representation at a second device. 
     Further, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the second device is a companion device. 
     There is also provided with a further embodiment of the present invention, a companion device including: means for playing a video content item, wherein the video content item includes at least one video scene; means for requesting relevant metadata associated with the at least one video scene, the relevant metadata including a geographical representation and geolocation metadata associated with the at least video scene; means for receiving the relevant metadata; and means for displaying an interactive geographical representation along with at least one visual indication, wherein the at least one visual indication is associated with the at least one video scene and positioned at a location indicated by the geolocation metadata. 
     There is also provided with a further embodiment of the present invention, a companion device including: a video player operative to play a video content item, wherein the video content item includes at least one video scene; a processor operable to request relevant metadata associated with the at least one video scene, the relevant metadata including a geographical representation and geolocation metadata associated with the at least one video scene; a receiver operable to receive the relevant metadata; and a rendering screen operable to display an interactive geographical representation along with at least one visual indication, wherein the at least one visual indication is associated with the at least one video scene and positioned at a location indicated by the geolocation metadata. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram illustration of a system constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a simplified block diagram illustration of a headend database constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an information flow diagram showing the information flows between the different apparatuses of the system constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart of a method of operating a companion device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIGS. 5A to 5D  are pictorial illustrations showing different examples of screens displayed on a companion device in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various principles of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that not all these details are necessarily always required for practicing the present invention. In this instance, well-known circuits, control logic, and the details of computer program instructions for conventional algorithms and processes have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the general concepts unnecessarily. 
     Although the principles of the present invention are largely described herein in relation to a television broadcast environment and related television applications, this is an example selected for convenience of presentation, and is not limiting. 
     System Architecture 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 1 , which is a simplified block diagram illustration of a system constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     A headend  110  typically communicates with a plurality of client devices  120  via a communication network  130 . Additionally or alternatively, a plurality of headends  110  communicate with a single client device  120  or with a plurality of client devices  120  via the communication network  130 . For simplicity of depiction and description, and without limiting the generality of the invention, only one client device  120  communication with only one headend  110  is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     The communication network  130  is a one-way or two-way communication network that includes at least one of the following: a satellite based communication network; a cable based communication network; a conventional terrestrial broadcast television network; a telephony based communication network; a telephony based television broadcast network; a mobile-telephony based television broadcast network; an Internet Protocol (IP) television broadcast network; and a computer based communication network. It is appreciated that in alternative embodiments, the communication network  130  may, for example, be implemented by a one-way or two-way hybrid communication network, such as a combination cable-telephone network, a combination satellite-telephone network, a combination satellite-computer based communication network, or by any other appropriate network. Other ways of implementing the communication network  130  will be apparent to someone skilled in the art. 
     The system of  FIG. 1  comprises a client device  120  disposed between a headend  110  and a display device  140 . Client device  120  comprises a digital video recorder (DVR) that typically includes a high capacity storage device, such as a hard disk or high capacity memory. Client device  120  is coupled to a display device  140 . Client device  120  typically comprises a tuner, a demultiplexer, a decoder, a receiver and a descrambler. It is appreciated that the client device  120  comprises standard hardware components and software components, as is well known in the art. 
     Client device  120  is typically connected in operation to display device  140  via a digital AV interface (e.g. HDMI, DVI, etc.) or via an analogue AV interface (e.g. component (RGB, YPbPr), composite (NTSC, PAL, SECAM), S-video, SCART, RF coaxial, D-Terminal (D-tanshi) etc.). While shown as separate entities in  FIG. 1 , the client device  120  may be integral with the display device  140  in other embodiments of the present invention. 
     Client device  120  typically receives, demultiplexes, decodes and decrypts/descrambles as necessary a broadcast television stream received from a headend  110  optionally under control of a conditional access device such as removable security element as is well known in the art. The removable security element typically includes a smart card as is well known in the art. The output from client device  120  comprises a decoded and decrypted/descrambled as necessary audio video (AV) stream ready to be displayed on the display device  140 . 
     Display device  140  is typically operated by a user, for example via a remote control unit (RCU)  150 . Using a RCU  150 , a user can select an AV content to view, such as a live event broadcast, a Video-On-Demand (VOD) asset, a recorded event, etc. The operating system software within client device  120  monitors user interaction with display device  140  and/or client device  120  and maintains a database of service and event information. The operating system software enables the user to choose an event/service to view. 
     Furthermore, a companion device  160  is provided that is operable to communicate with the client device  120  using any suitable connectivity link (e.g. wireless connection over Internet Protocol). The companion device  160  is further operable to communicate with the headend  110  through the communication network  130 .  FIG. 1  shows only one communication network  130 . However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the companion device  160  may communicate directly with the headend  110  using the same or a different communication network  130 . The companion device  160  may be, for example, but without limiting the generality of the invention, a laptop computer, a desktop or personal computer (PC), a tablet computer such as an iPad™, a mobile computing device, such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), mobile phone, or any suitable handheld device. Companion device  160  comprises a processor, a video player, a receiver and a rendering screen. It is appreciated that the companion device  160  comprises standard hardware components and software components, as is well known in the art. The companion device  160  may further be any device able to communicate with a client device  120  and/or a headend  110  as long as it includes a rendering screen for displaying content and data information to a user. 
     A user is typically able to select an event or a service to be displayed on the display device  140 . Furthermore, the user is also able to run an application that may be locally executed on the companion device  160  thereby enabling communication with the client device  120  and the headend  110 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the application may also be run by the user using an RCU  150  via a dedicated menu in the UI rendered on the display device  140 . The application is operable to communicate with the client device  120  to retrieve information about the event currently being displayed on the display device  140 . Then, the application is further operable to query a database  111  typically located at the headend premises using the information retrieved from the client device  120 . The database  111  typically returns relevant metadata, including geolocation metadata, for each video scene of the event currently being displayed on the display device  140 . Finally, the relevant metadata may be used to display a geographical representation of the event currently being displayed on the display device  140 . Displaying such a geographical representation of an event currently being displayed on a display device  140  enriches the user&#39;s viewing experience by giving him a better understanding of where and how the action takes place. 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 2 , which is a simplified block diagram illustration of a headend database constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     The database  211  is typically located at the headend  210  and typically comprises metadata related to a plurality of video content items  212 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this database  211  may be in any suitable form and located in any suitable part of the system of the present invention. Other ways of implementing the database  211 , such as using a plurality of databases, will be apparent to someone skilled in the art. 
     A video content item  212 ( i ) typically comprises a sequence of video frames representing one or more video scenes. It will be appreciated that in a theatrical presentation such as a movie or television program, a video scene typically corresponds to the place where an action, real or imaginary, occurs. In an embodiment of the present invention, a video content item  212 ( i ) is identified by a video content identifier and a set of metadata is provided for each video scene of the video content item  212 ( i ). For a particular video scene of a video content item  212 ( i ), the set of metadata typically comprises at least:
         a start time (T_start(j));   an end time (T_end(j));   a description; and   geolocation metadata.
 
The geolocation metadata may be provided, for example, as Global Positioning System (GPS) data, Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS) data, GALILEO data, BeiDou (Compass) Navigation Satellite System, Geographic Messaging System (GMS), or any suitable positioning data. The geolocation metadata typically corresponds to a location where the action of the particular video scene, real or imaginary, occurs. The description metadata is typically a summary of the video scene but may also comprise further metadata such as the name of the characters, the name of the actors, etc., given as non-limiting examples. Additional metadata may also be provided as part of the set of metadata such as a thumbnail image characterizing a particular video scene, detailed information on the place where the action of a particular video scene, real or imaginary, occurs (e.g. text information, pictures, etc.), a geographical representation (e.g. a map) relevant to the video content item  212 ( i ) and retrieved from any suitable content source and/or a scale factor to be used for drawing and/or displaying the geographical representation. These additional metadata may also comprise data indicating a position of the video scene among the video content item  212 ( i ). For example, these data may indicate that the video scene is, for example but without limiting the generality of the present invention, the first, the third, etc. or the last video scene of the video content item. Another way to indicate the position may be indicating the previous and next video scene of the video content item. When the geographical representation is drawn and/or displayed, these data may be used to indicate the logical sequence of the video scenes. In another embodiment of the present invention, several sets of metadata may be provided for a single video scene. This may be useful in situations where the action of a video scene occurs in several places. In a further embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of maps is provided, each map from said plurality of maps being associated to a video scene of the video content item  212 ( i ). The geographical representation may be, for example, and without limiting the generality of the present invention, a geographical map of a particular area (city, region, country, etc.), real or imaginary, showing where (in which street(s), road(s), etc.) an action occurs.
       

     The video content items  212  which populate the database and their associated metadata may be selected and provided by a TV broadcaster, a platform operator, a content provider or any third party entity. Hence, a wide selection of regular TV broadcast events, VOD assets, and other video content items may be available to be used by the application and/or the end user. In another embodiment of the present invention, the headend database  211  is further configurable to provide video content items of interest to a user by retrieving information from the client device. Upon connection to the client device, the headend database  211  may determine that additional video content items may be stored in the database  211 . These additional video content items may include, for example:
         events of adjacent services (i.e. events of services listed in the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) by a television operator immediately before and after the one currently being displayed on the display device  140 ; and/or   events of the n services listed in the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) by a television operator before and after the one currently being displayed on the display device  140 ); and/or   events of a user&#39;s favorite services (i.e. a list of services marked by the user as favorite services in an EPG); and/or   events of the most frequently watched services; and/or   events of the last watched services; and/or   events of the services matching the user&#39;s profile or interest; and/or   events of the services in which said user has made the most recordings; and/or   services browsed in an Electronic Program Guide; and/or   services listed by a television operator; and/or   events recorded by the user.
 
Furthermore, the database  211  may also be updated regularly by a TV broadcaster, a platform operator, a content provider or any third party entity in order to make available new video content items  212  and their associated metadata to users of the application.
       

     Finally the headend database  211  is able to support any traditional query system. For example, but without limiting the generality of the invention, Structured Query Language (SQL) may be used by the companion device  160  for querying and retrieving the set of relevant metadata from the headend database  211 . 
     Operation 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 3 , which is an information flow diagram showing the information flows between the different apparatuses of the system of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     At step  301 , the user can select an event or a service to be displayed on the display device  140  by operating an RCU  150  e.g. a remote control. Upon reception of the user&#39;s choice, the client device tunes to the selected event or service on a headend  110  (step  302 ) and demultiplexes, decodes and decrypts/descrambles as necessary the broadcast television stream received from the headend  110  in order to display the selected event on the display device  140  (step  303 ). 
     In parallel to watching the displayed event, the user may decide, in an embodiment of the present invention, to run an application on his companion device  160  (step  304 ) to obtain additional geographical information regarding the event currently being displayed on the display device  140 . The application is typically executed locally on the companion device  160 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the application may be a distributed computing application and therefore, that the application may be executed in any or in a plurality of suitable computing devices of a distributed computing system. A connection is established with the client device  120  and the companion device  160  then outputs a request to the client device  120  to retrieve data that specifically characterizes the event currently being displayed on the display device (step  305 ). For example, but without limiting the generality of the invention, the request may be achieved using a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) request over HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTPP). The client device  120  processes the request and responds by sending back to the companion device relevant data including, but not limited to, an identifier and a timeline position of the event currently being displayed on the display device (step  306 ). The identifier identifies the event being displayed on the display device  140  at the time the user launched the application and/or at the time the client device  120  processed the request. The identifier is typically the event_id retrieved from an Event Information Table (EIT) but any other identifier may be used as long as it is interpretable and suitable for use by the companion device  160 . The timeline position typically corresponds to the time elapsed since the beginning of the event e.g. the duration between the start time of the event and the time when the user launched the application on the companion device  160  and/or the client device  120  processed the request. 
     At the time the companion device  160  receives the relevant data (identifier and timeline position of the event currently being displayed on the display device  140 ), a subsequent query is generated by the application and sent to the headend database  111  in order to retrieve relevant metadata related to the event currently being displayed on the display device  140  (step  307 ). The event identifier is used to identify in the database  111  the corresponding video content item by comparing it to the different video content item identifiers present in the database  111 . 
     Once the corresponding video content item is identified as being the one being currently displayed on the display device  140 , the timeline position is used to identify which video scene is currently being displayed on the display device  140 . The relevant metadata corresponding to the identified video scene are then retrieved and sent back to the companion device  160  as results of the query (step  308 ). 
     At step  309 , the companion device  160  receives the relevant metadata and uses them to draw and display a geographical representation (e.g. a map) corresponding to the geographical area where the action of the identified video scene takes place. The map may be retrieved by the companion device  160  from any suitable content source such as, for example, the Internet, from other users or may be provided as part of the relevant metadata associated to each video content item  212 ( i ) and then displayed on the companion device  160 . In another embodiment of the present invention, the map may be drawn directly by the companion device  160  for display. Additionally, the map is overlaid by a visual indication indicating the position of the identified video scene on the map. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this visual indication may be in any appropriate form as long as the user of the application is able to easily see the position of the identified video scene on the map. Having this map rendered on the companion device  160  enhances the user&#39;s viewing experience by having a map optimally displayed on the companion device  160 . In another embodiment of the present invention, the relevant metadata may be received and processed at the client device  120 . Then, a map may be drawn and/or displayed on either the display device  140  or the companion device  160 . When the map is drawn and/or displayed on the companion device  160 , the companion device  160  may be used as a simple secondary display and is not used for processing any data. It may be useful in order to balance the workload since the client device  120  may have more computing power and resources than the companion device  160 . 
     At step  310 , the user may enter an input by interacting with the map displayed on the companion device  160 . This input may be, for example, a request for displaying additional information related to a particular video scene and/or a request for displaying additional information on the actors or characters present in a particular video scene and/or a request for displaying the map according to a different scale factor etc. The companion device may process the input (step  311 ) and update the map in response to the user&#39;s input (step  312 ). 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 4 , which is a flow chart diagram of a method of operating a companion device  160  constructed and operative in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     At start, a user may decide to run an application to obtain geographical information related to an event currently being displayed on a display device  140 . The application is typically executed locally on the companion device  160  and first outputs a request that is sent to the client device  120  to retrieve the identifier (event_id) and the timeline position (Tp) of the event currently being displayed on the display device  140 . Then, in response to the request, the companion device  160  receives the event_id and the timeline position of the event currently being displayed on the display device  140  (step  406 ). 
     At step  408 , the companion device  160  uses the received information (event_id and Tp) to query a database  111  located at the headend  110 . The event_id is used to identify in the database  111  the corresponding video content item  212 ( i ) by comparing it to the different video content item identifiers present in the database. Once the corresponding video content item  212 ( i ) is identified as being the one being currently displayed on the display device  140 , the timeline position is used to determine which video scene is currently being displayed on the display device  140 . The timeline position (Tp) is compared to the start and end times (T_start( ) and T_end( )) of each video scene of the video content item. As disclosed hereinabove, for each video content item  212  populating the database, relevant metadata corresponding to the different video scenes of the video content item are provided, including start and end times of each of the video scenes. The video scene (VSj) of the video content item  212 ( i ) currently being displayed on the display device  140  may be identified when it is determined that:
         the timeline position (Tp) is more than a start time of a video scene (T_start(j))−j being an integer number comprised between 1 and n, n also being an integer number corresponding to the last scene of the identified video content item: Tp&gt;T_start(j); and   the timeline position (Tp) is less than an end time of a video scene (T_end(j)): Tp&lt;T_end(j)       

     In an embodiment of the present invention, the relevant metadata corresponding to the video scene (VSj) in the video content item  212 ( i ) identified as being currently displayed on the display device  140  are then sent back to the companion device  160 . At step  408 , the companion device  160  receives the relevant metadata and uses them to draw and/or display a geographical representation (e.g. a map) corresponding to the geographical area where the action of the video scene (VSj) takes place (step  409 ). Additionally, the GPS data of the video scene (Gj) currently being displayed on the display device  140  may be used to position the visual indication on the map. Furthermore, the map displayed on the companion device  160  may be centered so that the visual indication is positioned at the center of the companion device display screen. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, the visual indication indicating the position of a video scene on the map may be a thumbnail image. This thumbnail image specifically characterizes a particular video scene (VSj) of a video content item  212 ( i ) so that the user, when looking at the map, can easily identify this particular video scene (VSj). The thumbnail image may be, for example, a still image or a video frame retrieved from any appropriate content source. 
     In a further embodiment of the present invention, the video content item  212 ( i ) comprises video frames representing multiple video scenes. Hence, the relevant metadata corresponding to the video scenes (VS 1 ; . . . ; VSj; . . . ; VSn) in the identified video content item  212 ( i ) are retrieved and sent back to the companion device  160 . Consequently, the companion device  160  receives the relevant metadata at step  408  and uses them to draw and/or display a geographical representation (e.g. a map) corresponding to the geographical area where the action of the different video scenes (VS 1 ; . . . ; VSj; . . . ; VSn) takes place (step  409 ). Additionally, the GPS data of the video scenes (G 1 ; . . . ; Gj; . . . ; Gn) are used to position visual indications on the map indicating the places where the action of the different video scenes (VS 1 ; . . . ; VSj; . . . ; VSn) takes place. Furthermore, the map displayed on the companion device  160  may be centered so that the visual indication indicating the position of the video scene (VSj) currently being displayed on the display device  140  is at the center of the companion device display screen. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, the visual indication indicating the position of the video scene (VSj) currently being displayed on the display device  140  is different to the other visual indications thereby easing identification of the position of the video scene (VSj) currently being displayed on the display device  140 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the visual indication of the video scene (VSj) currently being displayed on the display device  140  may be in any appropriate form (e.g. color, shape, size, etc.) as long as it is possible to easily identify it among the other visual indications. For example, the visual indications could be displayed as a series of numbers or timestamps reflecting the progression or timeline of the associated video scenes. 
     It will be apparent to someone skilled in the art that displaying a meaningful map to the user depends on the type of event displayed on the display device  140 . Indeed, the event displayed on the display device  140  may have, for example, several different video scenes, real or imaginary, taking place in many different places. Therefore, it may be difficult to choose an adequate scale factor for drawing and displaying a map that is easily readable and understandable by the end user. The scale factor used to draw and display a map may therefore be chosen so that the visual indications can be easily viewable by the end user. In an embodiment of the present invention, the scale factor used by the companion device  160  may be, for example, specified by the user and/or provided by the headend database  111  along with the relevant metadata and/or retrieved from the application settings. In another embodiment of the present invention, the companion device  160  may determine that the scale factor to be used may be chosen so that, for example:
         all the visual indications are displayed; and/or   n (e.g. a pre-defined number) visual indications are displayed; and/or   the visual indications corresponding to the video scenes just before and just after the video scene currently being displayed on the display device  140  are displayed; and/or   the maximum of visual indications are displayed according to a minimum size of the visual indications (i.e. a minimum size of a thumbnail image may be defined in order to be properly viewable for the user).       

     At step  410 , the companion device  160  may receive an input. In an embodiment of the present invention, this input may be received from the user. The user may interact with the displayed map, for example, by requesting additional information related to a particular video scene and/or by requesting additional information on the actors or characters present in a particular video scene and/or by zooming in or out etc. The user may also choose to close the application at this step. In another embodiment of the present invention, the input may be received from the client device  120 . As explained previously in relation to  FIG. 2 , when the application is launched, the companion device  160  outputs a request to the client device  120  in order to retrieve data that specifically characterize the event currently being displayed on the display device  140  (event_id and Tp). The companion device  160  may also output regular requests (e.g. every n seconds) to the client device  120  and may receive in response an input signaling a video scene change. The companion device  160  is then able to use the retrieved data to query regularly the headend database  111 . By doing so, the companion device  160  is therefore able to detect a video scene change and dynamically update the map. 
     At step  411 , the companion device  160  processes the input received. In most cases, the companion device  160  updates the map:
         when the user requests additional information related to a particular video scene or related to the actors or characters present in a particular video scene, then the description metadata may be extracted from the relevant metadata associated to a particular video scene and displayed on the map;   when the user zooms in or zooms out, the companion device  160  re-draws the map according to the new scale factor and displays the map newly drawn; and   when the companion device  160  detects a video scene change, the map is updated so that the visual indication, corresponding to the newly displayed video scene on the display device  140 , is positioned at the center of the map.       

     If the user chooses to leave the application then, the companion device  160  stops requesting information from the client device  120 , querying the headend database  111 , displaying the map and closes the application. 
     Reference is now made to  FIGS. 5A to 5D , which are pictorial illustrations showing different examples of screens displayed on a companion device in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5A  illustrates an event currently being displayed on the display device  140 —referred as the background event on FIG.  5 A- 5 D—overlaid by a menu allowing the user to select and launch a plurality of applications. As explained hereinabove in the present specification, the application may be launched either from the display device  140  or from the companion device  160 . Furthermore, the geographical representation may be displayed either on the display device  140  or on the companion device  160 .  FIG. 5A  illustrates an event currently being displayed on the displayed device overlaid by a plurality of applications. The user may use a RCU  150  or the companion device  160  to navigate through the applications displayed on the user interface and may choose one application to be launched. 
       FIGS. 5B and 5C  illustrates different geographical representations associated with a video content item  212 ( i ) currently being displayed on the display device  140 . The geographical representations are drawn and displayed on the companion device  160  in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. As explained previously in relation to  FIG. 4 , the companion device  160  receives the relevant metadata associated to a video scene (VSj) of the video content item  212 ( i ) currently being displayed on the display device  140  and uses them to draw and/or display a geographical representation (e.g. a map) corresponding to the geographical area where the action of the video scene (VSj) takes place (step  409 ). Additionally, the GPS data of the video scene (Gj) currently being displayed on the display device  140  is used to position the visual indication (e.g. a thumbnail image characterizing the video scene (VSj) currently being displayed on the display device  140 ) on the map. Furthermore, the map displayed on the companion device  160  is centered so that the thumbnail image is positioned at the center of the companion device display screen. 
       FIG. 5D  illustrates a geographical representation associated with a video content item  212 ( i ) currently being displayed on the display device  140 . The geographical representation is drawn and/or displayed on the companion device  160  in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. As described previously in relation to  FIG. 4 , the companion device  160  receives the relevant metadata associated to video scenes (VS 1 ; VS 2 , VS 3 ; VS 4 ; . . . ; VSj; . . . ; VSn) in the identified video content item  212 ( i ) (step  408 ) as results of the query sent to the headend database  111 . Consequently, the companion device  160  uses the sets of relevant metadata associated to the different video scenes (VS 1 ; VS 2 , VS 3 ; VS 4 ; . . . ; VSj; . . . ; VSn) to draw and/or display a geographical representation (e.g. a map) corresponding to the geographical area where the action of the different video scenes (VS 1 ; VS 2 , VS 3 ; VS 4 ; . . . ; VSj; . . . ; VSn) takes place (step  409 ). Additionally, the GPS data of the video scenes (G 1 ; G 2 , G 3 ; G 4 ; . . . ; Gj; . . . ; Gn) are used to position visual indications (e.g. thumbnail images) on the map indicating the places where the action of the different video scenes (VS 1 ; VS 2 , VS 3 ; VS 4 ; . . . ; VSj; . . . ; VSn) takes place. Furthermore, the map displayed on the companion device  160  may be centered so that the thumbnail image of the video scene (VSj) currently being displayed on the display device  140  is at the center of the companion device display screen. 
     Although the above embodiments have been described in the context of DVB implementation, someone skilled in the art will realize that other implementations are possible. 
     It is appreciated that various features of the invention which are, for clarity, described in the contexts of separate embodiments may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination. 
     It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.