Metadata driven seamless content handover in ubiquitous environment

Seamless content handover across different terminal devices achieved by the association of metadata and network functions is discussed in terms of service, architecture and prototype system (MetaPORT). A network recognizes the context so that the content is automatically adapted to handovered terminal device. This is achieved by using TV-Anytime server-type broadcasting infrastructure as well as IETF presence management infrastructure as underlying capabilities. In order to deliver broadcast content over ubiquitous network, usage environment metadata (UEM) that describes terminal capabilities and presence is introduced and managed by UEM server, in addition to content metadata. The network recognizes terminal state and content at the same time to enable user-friendly content handover.