JP2007074356A - Home network system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a home network system which allows a load condition of a home server installed in a home to be recognized by processing of a client side which receives streaming distribution of a content from the home server. <P>SOLUTION: The home network system includes a home server 101 having a streaming distribution function and a client 104 which is connected to the home server 101 and requests distribution of a content to the home server 101 and reproduces streaming of the contents distributed from the home server 101 and displays the contents on an image display device 107. The client 104 includes a server load analyzer 106 which determines the load condition of the home server 101 on the basis of an interval between the time of the access request to the home server 101 and the time of response from the home server 101 to the access request and displays the load condition of the home server 101 on the image display device 107. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a home network system for a user to view content at home, and more particularly to a technique for notifying a user of the load status of a home server that performs content streaming distribution.

  In recent years, with the development of digital technology, it has become easier to create content data for content composed of video and audio, etc., and at the same time, it has become easier to obtain large-capacity HDDs (hard disks) at low cost, so content data can be stored. It became easier. Therefore, PCs (personal computers) having a TV program recording function, HDD recorders, and the like have appeared.

  In addition, with the spread of broadband, the LAN environment in the home has begun to spread, and even in CE machines, HDDs equipped with network distribution functions such as streaming distribution of contents have appeared in some higher-end models.

  In addition, since many PCs have already been equipped with LAN terminals due to the widespread use of broadband environments, PCs with a TV program recording function become a home server with a TV program recording function relatively easily by adding software functions. be able to.

Further, in a video on demand system as described in Patent Document 1, the load factor of the video server itself is measured on the video server side, and information on the load factor is sent to the client terminal.
JP 2001-94959 A

  However, when a PC has a TV program recording function and a video distribution function as a home server at the same time and both functions are executed at the same time, there are PCs that cannot process both functions at the same time.

  If priority is given to the reservation recording function of a TV program, streaming distribution of content by the video distribution function as a home server must be performed during the reserved recording idle time.

  If streaming of content is performed in a state where the load on the home server is increasing, streaming distribution of content by the home server is not sufficient, and problems such as a drop in video frames occur during playback on the client side.

  For this reason, when requesting video distribution to the home server on the client side, it is necessary to grasp the load status of the home server. However, the home server and the client are not developed as a set. In the case where there is no commonality in the specifications due to the configuration of a general-purpose terminal, it is difficult to grasp the load status of the home server by processing only on the client side.

  In addition, some video on demand systems such as those disclosed in Patent Document 1 measure the load factor on the server side and send it to the client terminal. However, the client terminal is a general-purpose terminal or the like, and is sent from the server side. In some cases, it is impossible to obtain information on the load factor of the server, and it is impossible to grasp the load status on the server side only by the client terminal.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a home network system capable of grasping the load status of a home server installed in a home by processing on the client side that receives streaming distribution of content from the home server. .

  Of the inventions disclosed in the present application, the outline of typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

  A home network system according to the present invention is installed in a home and has a content streaming distribution function. The home network system is connected to the home server via the home network in the home, requests the home server for content distribution, and streams from the home server. A client for streaming the distributed content and displaying the content on a display device, the client based on an interval between an access request time to the home server and a response time from the home server to the access request. It has a server load analysis device that determines the load status of the server and displays the load status of the home server on a display device.

  Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, effects obtained by typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to grasp the load status of the home server by the processing on the client side that receives the streaming distribution of the content from the home server. It is possible to grasp the schedule, and to select a vacant home server or program reservation schedule to receive a streaming distribution of content.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that components having the same function are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings for describing the embodiment, and the repetitive description thereof will be omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
<Home network system configuration>
The configuration of the home network system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a home network system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the home network system includes a database 102 that holds content such as video, still images, and audio, a content transmission device 103 that performs content streaming distribution, and a home server 101 that performs content streaming distribution, and a home server 101. A content receiving device 105 that receives streaming distribution from the home server, a server load analyzing device 106 that determines the load status of the home server from the reception state of the content from the home server, and a video display device 107 that displays the content. The client 104 receives the streaming distribution of the content from and displays or reproduces the content.

<Operation of home network system>
Next, the operation of the home network system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example on the video display device of the home network system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows the processing of the server load analysis device of the home network system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart to show.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the content receiving device 105 of the client 104 requests a content list from the content transmitting device 103 by a user operation or the like (S101).

  Then, the content transmission device 103 searches for the content held in the database 102 that holds the content, creates a list of necessary content (S102), and the created list is transmitted to the content reception device 105 (S103). .

  Then, the content receiving device 105 displays the received content list on the video display device 107 (S104).

  Then, the user instructs the content reception device 105 by selecting desired content from the content list displayed on the video display device 107, and the content reception device 105 sends the content desired by the user to the content transmission device 103. (S105).

  Then, the content transmitting apparatus 103 identifies the content requested from the content receiving apparatus 105 from the database 102 that holds the content (S106).

  Then, the content transmitting apparatus 103 transmits the identified content as streaming distribution to the content receiving apparatus 105 (S107).

  Then, the content receiving apparatus 105 receives the streaming distribution of the specified content from the content transmitting apparatus 103 and displays it on the video display apparatus 107 (S108).

  At this time, if the home server 101 does not have sufficient CPU resources for streaming distribution of content and a sufficient bandwidth in the network path between the home server 101 and the client 104, the video display device 107 on the client 104 side will Video of sufficient quality cannot be played.

  When the CPU load of the home server 101 is high, the video display device 107 of the client 104 is interrupted and frames are dropped, or the load of the home server 101 is allocated to another process on the home server 101 side. In such a case, streaming distribution of the content will be stopped.

  A specific example when the load on the home server 101 is high is a personal computer having both a TV recording function and a home server function, and when a video distribution request is received from a client during TV program recording. It corresponds to this case.

  For this reason, in the present embodiment, the content reception device 105 delivers the data on the reception status of the streamed content to the server load analysis device (S109), and the current data distribution capability of the home server 101 is changed to the data The video display device 107 is notified after determining the response from the request to the response and ranking as a guideline such as a deliverable bit rate (S110).

  This notification example is as shown in FIG. 2, for example. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a content display unit 201 such as a moving image and an accessible server are displayed in the display area 200 on the video display device 107. The server list display unit 203 has a user interface having a content list display unit 204 for displaying a list of contents in the server selected in the server list display of the server list display unit 203. The load display unit 202 displays the load of the home server 101 on each home server 101 at a bit rate at which content can be reproduced.

  The determination of the server load displayed on the server load display unit 202 is determined by the difference between the access request time from the client 104 to the home server 101 and the response time from the home server 101.

  For determining the server load displayed on the server load display unit 202, as shown in FIG. 3, first, the access request time to the home server 101 is set to X, and the response time from the home server 101 is set to Y (S201). .

  Then, it is determined whether or not there is a response from the home server 101 (S202). If the response from the home server 101 does not wait for a certain time in S202, "x" is displayed on the server load display unit 202. This indicates that the load on the home server 101 is increasing (S203).

  If there is a response from the home server 101 in S202, the value of Y−X is calculated (S204), that is, the load on the server is determined based on the response time interval.

  Here, certain threshold values D1 and D2 are determined (where D1 <D2), and the load is determined depending on which section of the respective threshold values the Y−X value falls into.

  For example, if Y−X> D2, the server load display unit is set to “x” (S203).

  Similarly, if Y−X> D1, the server load display unit is set to “4M” (S205), and if Y−X indicates other small values, the server load display unit is set to “8M” (S206). .

  Here, “8M” is a standard value indicating that even when streaming playback of 8 Mbps video is requested, no frames are dropped or delayed due to the addition of a server.

<Other display examples of load status of home server 101>
Next, another display example of the load status of the home server system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is a diagram showing another display example on the video display device of the home network system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a server load for each content of the home network system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating a display.

  In the display example shown in FIG. 2, the server load display is displayed on the user list on the user interface. However, the home server system acquires all content lists from the accessible home server 101, and once Can also be displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, content in different home servers 101 is displayed at a time, and server load display is shown for each content.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, information on the home server 101 is not displayed, but each content is stored in each database 102 of each home server 101 as shown in FIG. 5, for example.

  The content AA is 4 Mbps video content and is stored in the database A102 of the home server A101. Similarly, the content BB is stored at 8 Mbps, the content BC is stored at 4 Mbps in the database B102 of the home server B101, and the content CD is stored at 4 Mbps in the database C102 of the home server C101.

  Here, for example, since the load status of the home server A101 is in a state where the content cannot be distributed, the content AA cannot be distributed, and “x” is displayed on the content AA on the user interface shown in FIG. .

  Similarly, since the load status of the home server B101 is in a state where 8 Mbps content can be reproduced, the 8 Mbps content BB is displayed as “◯” on the user interface shown in FIG.

  The home server 101B also holds 4 Mbps content BC, and the load state of the server is in a state in which content of 8 Mbps can be reproduced. Since the load status of the server has a larger margin than the bit rate of the content, “表示” is displayed on the user interface here.

  Similarly, the load status of the home server 101C is “reproducible if content is 4 Mbps, not possible 8 Mbps”, and content CD is 4 Mbps. Since this content is reproducible, the display on the user interface is “◯”.

  Accordingly, it is possible to confirm whether or not the content that the user wants to view can be viewed comfortably without recognizing where the content is stored in a plurality of home servers 101.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the load status of the home server 101 is determined based on the time until the home server 101 responds to an access request from the client 104 to the home server 101. Regardless of the process, it is possible to detect the load on the home server 101 by the process only on the client 104 side.

  For this reason, the home server 101 and the client 104 need only have specifications for requests and responses for general streaming delivery, and the home server by the client 104 does not have a common specification for load detection of the home server 101. It is possible to grasp the load status of 101.

(Embodiment 2)
In the second embodiment, when a TV program recording function is added to the home server 101 in the first embodiment and streaming playback is performed via the home network, a recording reservation of the TV program starts on the home server side. The user is notified of the possibility that the load on the server will increase, and when streaming recording is requested when scheduled recording is being performed on the home server, when the scheduled recording ends and when the server load is light This is a notification of what will happen.

<Home network system configuration>
The configuration of the home network system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the home network system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

  6, the home network system includes a home server 101 with a TV program recording function and a client 104. The home server 101 includes a recording device 504, a recording reservation list 503, and a program reservation content confirmation device 506. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, and the operation of the load status determination processing of the home server 101 is also the same as that of the first embodiment.

<Operation of home network system>
Next, the operation of the home network system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example on the video display device when there is a reserved recording of the home network system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a reservation of the home network system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a process when there is recording, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example on the video display device when the home network system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention is performing scheduled recording, and FIG. 10 is an implementation of the present invention. 14 is a flowchart showing a process when reserved recording is being performed in the home network system according to the second embodiment.

  First, when the recording reservation of the TV program starts on the home server 101 side during streaming playback, the content receiving device 105 of the client 104 is set to the content transmitting device 103 by a user operation or the like as shown in FIG. On the other hand, a content list is requested (S301).

  Then, the content transmission device 103 searches for the content held in the database 102 that holds the content, creates a list of necessary content (S302), and sends the created list to the content reception device 105 (S303). .

  Then, the content receiving device 105 displays the received content list on the video display device 107 (S304).

  Then, the user instructs the content reception device 105 by selecting desired content from the content list displayed on the video display device 107, and the content reception device 105 sends the content desired by the user to the content transmission device 103. (S305).

  Then, the content transmission device 103 identifies the content requested from the content reception device 105 from the database 102 that holds the content (S306).

  Then, the content receiving device 105 acquires the time length of the content from the specified content based on the information from the content transmitting device 103 (S307).

  In addition, the content receiving apparatus 105 receives a notification of the program reservation time on the home server 101 side from the program reservation content confirmation apparatus 506 (S308), and passes the content time length and program reservation time information to the server load analysis apparatus 106. (S309).

  Then, the server load analysis device 106 calculates the expected playback time based on the content time length from the current time, checks whether there is an overlap between the expected playback time and the recording reservation, and overlaps. If there is, a screen such as “Recording reservation of server B starts at 19:00. The playback quality of the content BB may be degraded or may not be played after 35 minutes” is shown in FIG. Is displayed on the server list display unit 203 on the video display device 107, the information is provided to the user, and the user is notified that the load will increase after 35 minutes (S310).

  Here, if the user approves the reproduction, the content receiving device 105 requests the content transmitting device 103 to distribute the video (S311), and the content transmitting device 103 receives the content from the database holding the content. The content is specified (S312).

  Then, the content transmitting apparatus 103 transmits the identified content as streaming distribution to the content receiving apparatus 105 (S313).

  Then, the content receiving apparatus 105 receives the streaming distribution of the specified content from the content transmitting apparatus 103 and displays it on the video display apparatus 107 (S314).

  As shown in FIG. 8, the determination of the information to be displayed on the server load display unit 202 in S310 first predicts the streaming playback end time from the current time and the time length of the content, and ends the streaming playback from the current time. A section up to the time is set as d (S401).

  Then, it is determined whether or not there is a program reservation in the section d (S402). If there is no program reservation in S402, the content is streamed without warning message (S403).

  Further, if there is a program reservation in S402, for example, the display as shown in FIG. 7 is performed, so that the user can start the reserved recording during the streaming file reproduction and the streaming reproduction may be caused by the load on the home server side. Two points that there is a possibility that smooth processing cannot be performed are notified (S404).

  By such processing, not only the load status of the home server 101 is determined but also the recording reservation information of the home server 101, there is no load on the home server 101 at present, and streaming distribution may be performed without any problem. Even if it is determined that it is possible, the client 104 can recognize that the load on the home server 101 increases during streaming playback.

  Further, when the reserved recording is performed in the home server 101, the content selected by the user is specified and the streaming reproduction is performed by the same operation as the operation of S301 to S314 shown in FIG. ing.

  At this time, if the reserved recording is performed in the home server 101, as shown in FIG. 9, “the recording reservation of the server A ends at 21:54. After 25 minutes, the content AA is played back. Is displayed on the server list display unit 203 on the video display device 107, and the information is provided to the user. After 25 minutes, the load is increased. Notifying that it will be lower.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the information to be displayed on the server load display unit 202 is determined based on the program reservation time information to determine whether the home server 101 is recording a TV program (S501). ), If recording is not in progress in S501, streaming playback is performed via the content receiving apparatus 105 without a warning message (S502).

  If the recording is in progress in S501, it is determined whether or not the recording is based on the reserved recording (S503). If the recording is not in the reserved recording in S503, the end time of the recording cannot be confirmed. The fact that the program is being recorded is notified (S504).

  Further, if the recording is based on the reserved recording in S503, a notification is given as to when the reservation is to be ended. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, after the scheduled recording end time and the end time, the home server side 2 points that there is a possibility of smooth processing can be notified (S506).

  After the notifications in S504 and S505, the user's intention to play streaming is confirmed (S507), and if there is user consent, streaming playback is performed (S508).

  By such processing, not only the load status of the home server 101 is determined but also the recording reservation information of the home server 101, the load on the home server 101 is currently large and is not suitable for streaming distribution. After the elapse of time, the client 104 can grasp that the load on the home server 101 is reduced.

  As mentioned above, the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

  The present invention relates to a home network system that allows a user to view content at home, and is particularly applicable to a system that notifies the user of the load status of a home server that performs streaming distribution of content.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the home network system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display on the video display apparatus of the home network system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the server load analysis apparatus of the home network system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display on the video display apparatus of the home network system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the server load display for every content of the home network system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the home network system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display on a video display apparatus in case there exists reservation recording of the home network system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows a process when there exists reservation recording of the home network system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display on a video display apparatus in the case of the time-programmed video recording of the home network system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process in the case of the time-programmed video recording of the home network system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Home server, 102 ... Database, 103 ... Content transmission apparatus, 104 ... Client, 105 ... Content reception apparatus, 106 ... Server load analysis apparatus, 107 ... Video display apparatus, 200 ... Display area, 201 ... Content display part, 202 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Server load display part 203 ... Server list display part 204 ... Content list display part 503 ... Recording reservation list, 504 ... Recording apparatus, 506 ... Program reservation content confirmation apparatus.

Claims (3)

A home server installed at home and having a streaming distribution function of content;
Connected to the home server via the home network in the home, requests the home server to distribute the content, streams the content streamed from the home server, and displays the content on a display device With clients,
The client determines a load status of the home server based on an interval between an access request time to the home server and a response time from the home server in response to the access request, and displays the load status of the home server A home network system comprising a server load analysis device displayed on a device. The home network system according to claim 1,
The server load analysis device of the client determines whether streaming playback of the content is possible based on the load status information of the home server and the content information, and displays the determination result on the display device A home network system characterized by that. The home network system according to claim 1 or 2,
The home server has a reservation recording function for the content,
The server load analysis device of the client determines the recording status by the reserved recording of the home server that is streaming the content being reproduced at the start of the streaming reproduction based on the information of the reserved recording of the content by the home server And displaying the determination result on the display device.

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