KR100898343B1 - Channel control method and apparatus thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a channel control method and system for an IPTV service. In order to enable a user to search and select a channel in consideration of a user's viewing preference, the channel control method for an IPTV service uses a default channel mode and a channel selection signal. A mode setting step of setting a preferred channel mode and a basic channel mode by analyzing; a preference channel control step of selecting a channel providing the preferred program by searching only preference programs by preference in the preferred channel mode; The basic channel mode includes a basic channel control step of sequentially searching and selecting all channels, and a stream providing step of providing a stream of the selected channel, and thus based on the user's viewing preferences and advance reservations. Automatically connect preferred programs at service logon It is possible to simplify the channel control process of the user, and to improve service performance by preventing excessive channel change request.

IPTV service, favorite program, channel control

Description

Channel control method and apparatus therefor for IPTV service

The present invention relates to an IPTV service system, and more particularly, to a channel control method and system for an IPTV service that enables a user to search and select a channel in consideration of a program viewing preference of a user.

The present invention is derived from the research conducted as part of the IT new growth engine core technology development project of the Ministry of Information and Communication [Task management number: 2005-S-058-01, Task name: Development of integrated network service control technology based on All-IP] .

The channel control scheme provided by the conventional IPTV service is an electronic program guide (EPG), which is a kind of menu-based structure.

This is not a problem for small numbers of channels, but it is very inefficient for IPTV channels, which can range from hundreds to thousands, and users have to look for program information.

In particular, in the case of broadcast programs, the viewing preferences of users for specific programs (e.g., dramas, news programs, documentaries, etc.) are obvious by viewing day, but these characteristics cannot be reflected in the channel control, so the user may select a desired program every time. You'll have to find and change channels around.

In addition, from the viewpoint of IPTV service network, the load for processing this is increased due to excessive channel change request, and the performance decreases. From the user's point of view, the service time decreases when the channel change request is lengthened.

As described above, the channel control method provided by the conventional IPTV service does not reflect the viewing preferences during the channel control, which not only increases the number of channel change requests unnecessarily but also increases the response time when the channel change request is long. There were various disadvantages such as deterioration.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, as a means for solving the above problems, the mode setting step of setting the preferred channel mode and the default channel mode by analyzing the default channel mode and channel selection signal; A preferred channel control step of searching for only preferred programs by preference in the preferred channel mode and selecting a channel providing the preferred program; A basic channel control step of sequentially searching for and selecting all channels in the basic channel mode; And a stream providing step of providing a stream of the selected channel.

The preferred channel control step may include: obtaining a preferred program profile corresponding to a day of the week when a channel is changed; A preferred program obtaining step of acquiring a preferred program according to a preference for each time zone when changing a channel of the obtained preferred program profile; And a stream providing start step of starting to provide a stream of a channel broadcasting the preferred program.

In this case, the preferred program profile is configured to correspond to each day of the week for each user, and each preferred program profile includes a program name, a channel number, a final broadcast time, a next broadcast time, a final viewing time, a viewing frequency, a reservation status, and the like. The information is mapped to each other and stored.

The acquiring of the preferred program may include searching for and selecting the preferred program in order of a reserved program, a program having a large number of viewing times, a program to be started fastest among reserved programs, and a program to be started fastest among unreserved programs. The method may further include re-entering the stream providing step after updating the time of the preferred program with the program time of the broadcasting station if the preferred program time stored in the preferred program profile is different from the program time of the broadcasting station. There is also.

The stream providing step may include: identifying resource requirements for the selected channel and securing bandwidth; And branching the stream of the selected channel to the user.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, as a means for solving the above problems, the step of analyzing the request of the IPTV section management device; In the case of a registration request for a specific program, registering a specific program after acquiring a preferred program profile corresponding to the requested day of the week; A search step of acquiring a preference program for each preference in a time zone for which a search is requested after acquiring a preference program profile corresponding to the search requested day of the week in the case of a search request of a preference program; And a reservation step of registering a program to be reserved in the preferred program profile corresponding to the requested day of the week in the case of the preferred program reservation request.

The method for managing a preferred program profile further includes a cleaning step of acquiring a preferred program profile corresponding to the day of the week when the cleaning request is requested, and deleting all programs whose last viewing date has passed the valid viewing period. can do.

The registering may include receiving a user ID, a date, and viewing history information; After acquiring a viewing time from the viewing history information, determining whether the viewing time is at least a minimum viewing time; If the viewing time is greater than or equal to the minimum viewing time, acquiring a preferred program profile and confirming whether or not the program to be registered is registered; And if the program to be registered is not registered, mapping and storing a program name, channel number, last broadcast time, next broadcast time, last watch time, watch count, and reserved flag.

The searching may include receiving a user ID, a date, and a search request time; And after acquiring the corresponding favorite program profile, searching for the favorite program in order of a reserved program, a program having a high number of watching, a program to be started fastest among reserved programs, and a program to be started fastest among unscheduled programs. Selecting.

The reservation step includes receiving a user ID, a date, and a program name; And after acquiring the corresponding preferred program profile, mapping and storing a program name, a channel number, a final broadcast time, a next broadcast time, and whether a reservation is made on the corresponding preferred program profile.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, as a means for solving the above problems, when the channel change request according to the preferred channel mode, the channel is selected by searching only the preferred programs in order of preference by time zone, and according to the basic channel mode. An IPTV service control unit configured to search all channels sequentially to select a channel and to configure multicast forwarding information when a channel change request is made; An IPTV application server unit transmitting a stream for each channel for providing an IPTV service; And an IPTV delivery network unit which processes branching for each channel according to the multicast forwarding information.

The IPTV service control unit includes a user profile for storing user information for watching a broadcast channel; A preferred program profile configured to correspond to each day of the week, and storing information on a preferred program for each time zone; An IPTV session control unit which grasps a user's requirements and a service environment and monitors a session state of a user's access to a broadcast channel to collect and manage viewing history information; A preference program manager configured to search for and notify the preference program while configuring the preference program profile with reference to the viewing history information under the control of the IPTV session controller; And a resource and channel controller configured to set a network connection environment for allocating the stream of the selected channel, allocate bandwidth, and provide the multicast forwarding information.

In this case, the channel number, the last broadcast time, the next broadcast time, the last watch time, the last watch date, the watch count, and the reserved flag are mapped and stored for each program name.

And the preferred program manager searches for and selects the preferred program in order of a reserved program, a program having a large number of viewing, a program to be started fastest among the reserved programs, and a program to be started fastest among unscheduled programs. It is done.

If the recent viewing time is less than the minimum viewing time, the IPTV section controller does not request a preference program registration operation, and if the last viewing date of a specific program has passed a setting validity period, selects the specific program as the preferred program profile. Delete from

The IPTV transmission network unit may include an access router configured to process switching for each channel according to the multicast forwarding information; And an edge router and a core router forming a multicast tree for each channel between the IPTV application server unit and the IPTV terminal.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, as a means for solving the above problems, a channel control apparatus for selecting all channels by sequentially searching all channels or selecting channels by searching only the preferred programs in order of time zone preference. ; An IPTV set-top box connected to an IPTV service system and receiving a stream of the selected channel from the IPTV service system; And a reproducing apparatus for reproducing the stream of the selected channel.

The channel control apparatus may further include a function of reserving a program being viewed, the basic channel controller configured to sequentially search for all programs and select a channel to be viewed; And a preference channel controller configured to search for only preferred programs and select a channel to be watched or to reserve a program being viewed according to the preferences for each time zone.

As described above, the channel control method and system for the IPTV service of the present invention collects and analyzes the preferences based on the program viewing history information of each day of the user in the IPTV service network and analyzes the preferences, and creates a preference program profile. By automatically connecting to the preferred program according to the day and time, it greatly improves the user's convenience of using the service and enables the channel zapping for the selected preferred programs, thereby preventing the excessive channel change request and improving the service control performance. .

In addition, it has compatibility with existing methods, so that it can be applied to existing IPTV services.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, in describing in detail the operating principle of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the same reference numerals are used for parts having similar functions and functions throughout the drawings.

Prior to explaining the present invention, a data output method of the Internet voice telephone according to the prior art will be described first for better understanding of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram of an IPTV service system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the IPTV service system 100 of the present invention includes an IPTV delivery network unit 110, an IPTV service control unit 120, and an IPTV application server unit 130. Connected.

The IPTV delivery network unit 110 includes an access router 111 that handles switching for a broadcast channel, and an edge router that forms a multicast tree for each channel between the IPTV application server unit 130 and the IPTV terminal 200. (Edge Router) 112 and the Core Router (Core Router) 113.

In particular, the access router 111 of the present invention is information provided by the IPTV channel control unit 125 of the IPTV service control unit 120 in place of the Group Management Message (IGMP), which is generally used in the related art. For example, branching is performed for each channel based on multicast forwarding information including multicast IP, port number, and user IP address.

The IPTV service control unit 120 uses the interaction with the IPTV terminal 200 and the user profile 122 to grasp the user's requirements and service environment, monitor the session state of the user's access to the broadcast channel, and view the viewing history. IPTV session control unit (hereinafter referred to as IPTVSCF) 125 for collecting and managing information, a user profile 122 for storing information of users for watching a broadcasting channel, and viewing viewing preferences for each time zone from IPTVSCF 125 viewing history information. The preferred program management unit (hereinafter referred to as PCMF) 123 for retrieving and notifying the preferred program in response to the request of the IPTVSCF 125 while constructing the preferred program profile 124. Preferred Program Profile (124), IPTV Channel Control Unit (CHNCF) 125, which performs multicast channel branching control per channel, quality of IPTV broadcast content Access authority authentication unit (NACF) 126 for setting the network connection environment of the user so as to guarantee and securely delivered to the user, and resource control unit (RACF) (127) for allocating bandwidth for transmitting streams for each channel. ).
Preferably, NACF 126 uses the Network Access Control Function (NACF) specified in ITU-T Draft Recommendation Y.NACF, and RACF 127 uses ITU-T Recommendation Y.2111 (formerly Y.RACF). Use defined resource and authentication control functions (RACFs).

The IPTV application server unit 130 includes a content profile 131 for storing broadcast start and end times for content for each channel, and a broadcast schedule manager 132 for selecting and transmitting content to be broadcast for each time zone according to a broadcast schedule. Include.

IPTV terminal 200 is connected to the channel control device 210, the IPTV service control unit 120 and the IPTV delivery network 110 to change not only the channel in a simple sensitization, but also in accordance with the user's program viewing preferences. IPTV set-top box 220 to perform, and a playback device 230 for playing the stream of the channel selected by the user.

The channel control apparatus 210 according to the present invention includes a basic channel controller 212 and a preferred channel controller 211, and the basic channel controller 212 requests to change the channel to a simple increment as in the prior art. .

The preferred channel controller 211 requests to change the channel according to the viewing preference for each broadcasting time zone. In addition, the preferred channel controller 211 includes a reservation button in addition to the channel increase / decrease button, thereby requesting the reservation of the program being watched in the broadcast time zone of the corresponding program. In the broadcast day and time zone of the reserved program, the corresponding program is always watched first.

2A to 2E illustrate the structure of main profile and information elements according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a user profile, FIG. 2B shows multicast session information, and FIG. 2C shows multicast routing information. 2D shows multicast forwarding information and FIG. 2E shows a preferred program profile.

Referring to FIG. 2A, a user profile includes user information necessary for a user authentication operation, service contract information indicating a contracted service (Service_contract), service class contract information (QoS_contract) indicating a contracted service level, and IP. Access configuration information (Access_configuration) that informs the address, IP configuration information (IP_configuration) that informs the user's IP address, and service mode information (Service_mode) that informs the default channel mode, minimum viewing time, and setting validity period. ) Is stored.

It is maintained by IPTVSCF 125 and loaded into IPTVSCF 125 when IPTV terminal 200 logs on.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the multicast session information consists of a list of users connected for IPTV channels currently being serviced. This is managed by the IPTVSCF 121.

Referring to FIG. 2C, the multicast routing information includes multicast IP address information corresponding to each of the currently serving IPTV channels. This is managed by the CHNCF 125.

Referring to FIG. 2D, the multicast forwarding information stores port information allocated to each multicast IP address and IP addresses of users connected to the corresponding port. That is, information regarding which port each multicast stream should be branched to is stored.

This is managed by the CHNCF 125 and provided to the access router 111. Then, the access router 111 performs channel branching using the multicast forwarding information as described above.

Referring to FIG. 2E, the preferred program profile is composed of a plurality of users 310 to 370 so as to correspond to each day of the week, and each preferred program profile 310 includes a program name 311, a channel number 312, and a final broadcast. The time 313, the next broadcast time 314, the last viewing time 315, the number of viewing times 316, and the reservation flag 317 are mapped to each other and stored.

Here, the program name 311, identification information of the preferred program, the channel number 312, the identification information of the channel on which the program is aired, and the last broadcast time 313, the start time of the most recently aired program and In the end time and the next broadcast time 314, the next broadcast start and end time of the program in which the reservation operation is activated are stored, respectively. Such information 311 ˜ 314 is provided from the IPTV application server unit 130.

In the latest viewing time 315, the date and total viewing time most recently watched by the IPTV terminal 200, the number of viewing times 316, the number of viewing of the program during the set validity period, and the reservation flag 317, Whether the program is reserved or not is stored, and these information 315 to 317 are provided from.

In the present invention, preference is set in order of a reserved program, a program having a large number of viewing times, a program to be started earlier among the reserved programs, and a program to be started earlier among the unreserved programs.

Accordingly, the PCMF 123 of the present invention searches for and selects a preferred program from the preferred program profile according to the above preference, and then provides the information of the selected preferred program to the IPTVSCF 121.

In addition, the IPTVSCF 121 does not register a program whose total viewing time is shorter than the minimum viewing time (for example, 5 minutes) as a favorite program, so that a program to be temporarily watched when zapping a channel is registered as a favorite program. Prevent it in advance. In addition, if the last viewing date passes the set validity period (for example, one month), the corresponding program is deleted from the favorite program profile.

3A to 3E are flowcharts illustrating a channel control method for an IPTV service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, Figure 3a will be described in the IPTV service connection initialization method.

When the IPTV terminal 200 is powered on (S101), subscriber authentication is performed through the user ID and password (Uset_ID, passwd) (S102), and the user profile 132, which has successfully completed authentication, is loaded into the IPTVSCF 121. (S103).

The service connection configuration for the IPTV service is set and initialized based on the user profile 132 (S104), and the preferred program profile 124 is loaded into the PCMF 123 (S105).

Then, the channel mode of the IPTV terminal 200 is set to the default channel mode determined at the time of service contract (S106).

If the default channel mode is the basic channel mode (S107), after accessing the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) screen (S107), step A to change the channel to simple incremental.

On the other hand, if the default channel mode is the preferred program mode (S107), step B to change the channel for each channel preference.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a channel control method when entering the A stage for searching and selecting a channel by a simple increase / decrease will now be described.

When the channel selection signal is input from the IPTV terminal 200 in the state of entering the A stage (S121), it is analyzed to determine whether the channel of the basic channel controller 212 or the channel of the preferred channel controller 211 is selected. Check (S122).

If the channel of the preferred channel controller 211 is selected, the process enters the B stage to change the channel according to the preferred channel mode.

On the other hand, if a channel of the basic channel control unit 212 is selected (S123), after setting the channel mode to the basic channel mode (Authentication) (S124).

When the access authority of the selected channel is normally authenticated, the terminal resource, content characteristics, service contract contents, etc. are analyzed with reference to the user profile 122 to identify necessary resource requirements (S125), and the bandwidth is secured by the RACF 127. It is required (S126).

Subsequently, a channel switching is requested and processed by the access router 111 through the CHNCF 135 to provide the selected channel to the IPTV terminal 200 (S127 and S128).

In response, the access router 111 receives the stream of the selected channel and provides the terminal 200 to the terminal 200 (S129).

Referring to FIG. 3C, a channel control method when entering the B stage for searching for and selecting a channel by preference is as follows.

In step B, the channel mode is set as the preferred channel mode (S141), and the day and time zone for which the channel change is requested are determined (S142).

After searching the preferred program profile 124 corresponding to the day of the week (S143), the program having the highest preference in the corresponding time zone is selected as the preferred program (S144).

When the preferred program is selected, the program schedule time of the corresponding program is compared with the broadcast schedule provided by the IPTV application server unit 130 to check whether the time is changed (S145).

If the time has not been changed, the start guide message of the corresponding program is exported to the IPTV terminal 200 (S146), the bandwidth is secured (S147), and the channel switching command is commanded (S148, S149).

Accordingly, when the stream of the corresponding channel starts to be provided to the IPTV terminal 200 (S150), the process proceeds to step C.

On the other hand, if the broadcast time of the corresponding program is changed or canceled, a guide message for changing the program broadcast is sent to the IPTV terminal 200 (S152).

Then, after modifying the next airing time or deleting the corresponding program from the preferred program profile (S153), re-entry to S144 to search for the program having the next preference.

In addition, if the preferred program cannot be found in the corresponding day and time zone in the preferred program profile 124, the EPG is connected to the default channel mode (S154).

Referring to FIG. 3D, a channel control method when a stream of a channel starts to be provided, that is, channel branching is performed and enters the C stage will be described.

While entering the step C and providing a channel stream (S161), if a new event occurs (S162), it is analyzed (S163).

As a result of the analysis of S163, if the event indicating the start or end of the program or the start of the program in the reservation state, the process enters step D, and processes the event informing the start of the program in the start / end or reservation state of the program.

As a result of the analysis of S163, when the IPTV terminal 200 is powered off, the charging information such as the program and the viewing time for each channel after logon is collected and handed over to an application server (not shown) that needs it (S164), and finally The viewing history information such as the program name, channel number, and viewing time of the viewing program is updated (S165).

Using the updated viewing history information, the favorite program profile 124 is updated by additionally registering or modifying the program being viewed immediately before the power-off to the favorite program profile 124 (S166).

For example, if a program being watched immediately before the power-off is registered as a favorite program, the program name, channel number, last broadcast time, next broadcast time, last watch time, and the number of times of watching the program in the preferred program profile 124 (= 1) The reservation flag NO is stored.

After returning the resources allocated for the stream transmission of the channel through the RACF (127) (S167), and processing the preferred program profile cleaning to delete the programs that have passed the setting valid period from the preferred program profile (124) (S168) ), And terminate the IPTV service.

As a result of the analysis in S163, when the IPTV terminal 200 requests a channel change, the viewing history information such as the program name, channel number, and viewing time of the final viewing program is updated (S169). Next, the favorite program profile 124 is updated using the viewing history information (S170).

If the channel requested by the IPTV terminal 200 is not the currently set channel mode (S171), after changing the channel mode (for example, from the preferred program mode to the basic channel mode or vice versa) (S172), step E Through again goes to S107 of Figure 3a.

As a result of the analysis of S163, when the IPTV terminal 200 requests the reservation of the program currently being watched, the corresponding program is registered in the preferred program profile 124 or the next broadcast time information is modified and the reservation flag is set to "YES". In step S173, the process returns to step C to continue providing a stream of the channel currently being watched.

Referring to FIG. 3E, a channel control method when an event indicating the start / end of a program or the start of a program in a reserved state occurs and enters the D stage will be described.

In step D, the first event is analyzed (S181).

If it is an event that the preferred program starts, a guide message for starting the program is transmitted to the IPTV terminal 200 (S182), and after providing the stream of the corresponding channel, the process enters the step C again.

If the preference program ends, the viewing history information is updated using the program name, channel number, viewing time, etc. of the preferred program (S183), and the preferred program profile 124 is also updated using this (S184). The process then advances to step E and proceeds to S107 of FIG. 3A.

If the scheduled program is an event to start, it is checked whether the time changes by comparing the broadcast programming time of the reservation program with the broadcast schedule (S185).

If the time has not changed, the start guide message of the corresponding program is transmitted to the IPTV terminal 200 (S186), the bandwidth is secured (S187), and the channel switching is processed (S188 and S189).

When the stream of the corresponding channel starts to be provided (S190), the process returns to step C to continue receiving the channel stream.

If the airing time of the reserved program is changed or canceled, a guide message for changing the airing of the program is transmitted to the IPTV terminal 200 (S192), and the next airing time of the corresponding program is corrected or the corresponding program is selected from the preferred program profile. Delete it (S193). In step B, it searches for a preference program having the following preferences.

4 is a method for managing a preferred program profile according to an embodiment of the present invention, which means that whenever the PCMF 123 receives a preference program registration, preference program search, preference program reservation, or profile cleaning request from the IPTVSCF 121, FIG. Is performed.

When the IPTVSCF 121 requests the management and retrieval of the preferred program (S201), the requirements of the IPTVSCF 121 are analyzed (S202).

As a result of the analysis of S202, when the IPTVSCF 121 requests user registration of a preferred program and provides a user ID, registration request date, viewing history information, and the like, the minimum viewing time after extracting the total viewing time of the program requested to be registered from the viewing history information ( Example: 5 minutes) to see if longer than (S211).

If it is shorter than the minimum viewing time, the program requested to be registered is regarded as watched for a while in the channel change process, and the registration operation is not performed.

On the other hand, if it is longer than the minimum viewing time, the preferred program profile 124 of the corresponding day is searched to determine whether the program is a pre-registered program (S212), and if it is an unregistered program, the corresponding program is registered as the preferred program (S213). The preferred program profile 124 stores the program name, channel number, last broadcast time, next broadcast time, last watch time, watch count (= 1), and reserved flag NO of the corresponding program.

If the program is already registered, the program information (for example, the last broadcast time, the next broadcast time, the last watch time, and the number of views) is updated (S214).

As a result of the analysis of S202, when the IPTVSCF 121 requests a search for a preferred program and provides a user ID, a search request date and time, the IPTVSCF 121 according to the search algorithm of the present invention obtains the highest preference in the desired day and time zone. The branch is searched for and selected (S221). This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5.

As a result of the analysis in S202, if the preferred program reservation request is made, it is checked whether the program is already registered by referring to the preferred program profile 124 corresponding to the reservation request day of the IPTVSCF 121 (S231). If the program is an unregistered program, the program is registered as a preferred program, and a reservation flag (YES) is set (S232). If the program is already registered, a next broadcast time and a reservation flag (YES) are set (S233).

If the result of the analysis of S202 indicates that the preference program profile cleaning request is requested, it is checked whether the latest viewing time of the corresponding program is before the valid viewing period (for example, a month ago) by referring to the preference program profile 124 of the corresponding day (S241). . As a result of the check, the program is deleted from the preferred program profile 124 if it is before the set validity period (S242) to optimize the preferred program profile.

The above and preferred program profile cleaning process is performed each time the playback device 230 is powered off.

5 is a method of searching for a preferred program according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is performed whenever the PCMF 123 receives a preference program search request.

If a preferred program search request including a user ID requesting a preferred program search request and a search request date and time is input (S301), the preferred program profile 124 corresponding to the search request date, that is, the day of the week, is searched (S302).

After searching for a program started in a time zone closest to the search request time zone among the reserved programs (S303). Through this, the searched program is determined as the preferred program having the highest preference (S304).

Next, a program that is not reserved among programs broadcast during the search request time period is searched for by the user (S305), and the searched program is determined as a preferred program having the following preference (S304).

Next, among the reserved programs, the program that is to be started soonest among the programs to be started after the search request time is searched (S306), and the searched program is determined as the preferred program having the next preference (S304).

Finally, among the programs not reserved, the program that is to be started soonest among the programs to be started after the user logged on time is searched (S307), and the searched program is determined as the preferred program having the lowest preference (S304).

If the preferred program is not searched through the above processes, it is confirmed that no preferred program is set in the search request day and time zone, and operates in the basic channel mode (S308).

6 is a multicast branching method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

After the IPTV terminal 200 logs on and undergoes an initialization process for the service (S401), the IPTVSCF 121 notifies the PCMF 123 of the user ID, date, and time information using the user profile 122 and is preferred. The program search is requested (S402).

The PCMF 123 searches for the preferred program using the received information as shown in FIG. 5 (S403), and returns the user ID and the channel number, which are information of the found preferred program, to the IPTVSCF 121 (S404). The IPTVSCF 121 registers this information in the multicast session information configured as shown in Fig. 2B (S405). That is, the IPTV terminal 200 is added to the searched user list connected channel.

The IPTVSCF 121 transmits a user ID, a user IP address, a port number, and a channel number to the CHNCF 125, and requests branching of the multicast channel (S406).

The CHNCF 125 registers the received information in the multicast forwarding information configured as shown in FIG. 2D (S407), and provides the information to the access router 111 (S408). Information provided at this time is multicast IP, port number, user IP address.

The access router 111 registers the information provided from the CHNCF 125 (S409), and starts to branch the channel stream based on this (S410).

In FIG. 6, only the multicast branching method for providing a preferred program in the preferred channel mode has been described, but the same can be applied to the basic channel mode. That is, even when the channel in the basic channel mode is selected by the IPTVSCF 121, multicast branching for providing the corresponding channel is processed through S405 to S410.

The present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings, and it is common in the art that various substitutions, modifications, and changes can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

1 is a block diagram of an IPTV service system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2a to 2e is a structure of the main profile and information elements according to an embodiment of the present invention,

3A to 3E are flowcharts illustrating a channel control method for an IPTV service according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating a preferred program profile management method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a flowchart illustrating a preferred program search method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a flowchart illustrating a multicast branching method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (30)

A mode setting step of analyzing a default channel mode and a channel selection signal and setting a preferred channel mode and a basic channel mode; A preferred channel control step of searching for only preferred programs by preference in the preferred channel mode and selecting a channel providing the preferred program; A basic channel control step of changing the channel in a simple incremental manner in the basic channel mode; A stream providing step of providing a stream of the selected channel; An event analysis step of detecting and analyzing an event generated when providing a stream of the selected channel; A disconnection step of updating the viewing history information and the preferred program profile according to a program being watched and ending the operation in the case of a user disconnection event; In the case of a channel change event, after updating the viewing history information and the preferred program profile, if the channel mode is changed to the basic channel mode, the mobile station re-enters the basic channel control step. Performing a channel changing step; And In the event of a reservation event, the channel control method for an IPTV service comprising the step of re-entering the stream providing step after registering the program that was watching in the preferred program profile. The method of claim 1, wherein the preferred channel control step Obtaining a preferred program profile corresponding to the day of the week when the channel is changed; A preferred program obtaining step of acquiring a preferred program according to a preference for each time zone when changing a channel of the obtained preferred program profile; And And a stream providing start step of starting to provide a stream of a channel for broadcasting the preferred program. The method of claim 2, wherein the preferred program profile is It is configured to correspond to each day of the week for each user, and the information on the program name, channel number, last broadcast time, next broadcast time, last viewing time, viewing count, reservation status, etc. are mapped to each other and stored in each preferred program profile. Channel control method for IPTV service. The method of claim 3, wherein the obtaining of the preferred program comprises: Channel for IPTV service, characterized by searching for and selecting the preferred program in order of a reserved program, a program having a high number of views, a program to be started fastest among reserved programs, and a program to be started fastest among unscheduled programs. Control method. The method of claim 2, wherein the obtaining of the preferred program comprises: If the preferred program time stored in the preferred program profile is different from the program time of the broadcasting station, updating the time of the preferred program to the program time of the broadcasting station, and further comprising the step of re-entering the stream providing step Channel control method for IPTV service. delete The method of claim 1, A program start step of notifying that the selected program is started, in case of a program start event, and reentering the stream providing step; A program termination step of notifying that the selected program is terminated in the case of a program termination event, updating the viewing history information and the preferred program profile, and reentering the mode setting step; And In the event of a reserved program start event, the IPTV service further comprises notifying that the reserved program is started, selecting a channel for providing the reserved program, and then re-entering the stream providing step. Channel control method for. The method of claim 7, wherein the starting of the reservation program If the reserved program time is different from the program time of the broadcasting station, updating the reserved program time with the program time of the broadcasting station, and then reentering the preferred channel control step. Channel control method for. The method of claim 1, wherein the stream providing step Identifying resource requirements for the selected channel and securing bandwidth; And And branching the stream of the selected channel to the user. The method of claim 9, wherein the branching Acquiring multicast session information through the information of the selected channel; Updating multicast forwarding information via the multicast session information; And And channeling the stream for each channel with reference to the multicast forwarding information. The method of claim 10, The multicast session information is information on users connected to each channel, The multicast forwarding information includes a plurality of ports corresponding to each multicast group, and information about users connected to each of the plurality of ports. In the preferred program profile management method of the IPTV service system, Analyzing a request of the IPTV section managing device; In the case of a registration request for a specific program, registering a specific program after acquiring a preferred program profile corresponding to the requested day of the week; A search step of acquiring a preference program for each preference in a time zone for which a search is requested after acquiring a preference program profile corresponding to the search requested day of the week in the case of a search request of a preference program; And If it is a preferred program reservation request, the method of managing a preferred program profile comprising a reservation step of registering the program to be reserved in the preferred program profile corresponding to the requested day of the reservation. The method of claim 12, In the case of a preferred program profile cleaning request, after the acquiring the preferred program profile corresponding to the day of the week when the cleaning request is made, the program further comprises a cleaning step of deleting all programs whose last viewing date has passed the valid viewing period. How to manage your profile. The method of claim 12, wherein the registration step Receiving user ID, date, and viewing history information; After acquiring a viewing time from the viewing history information, determining whether the viewing time is at least a minimum viewing time; If the viewing time is greater than or equal to the minimum viewing time, acquiring a preferred program profile and confirming whether or not the program to be registered is registered; And If the program to be registered is unregistered, the preferred program profile management comprising the step of mapping the program name, channel number, the last broadcast time, the next broadcast time, the last viewing time, the number of viewing, the reservation flag and storing; Way. 15. The flag of claim 14, wherein said reservation flag is Preferred program profile management method characterized in that the set to be deactivated during the registration step. The method of claim 14, wherein the viewing history information A method of managing a preferred program profile, comprising information on a program name, channel number, last broadcast time, next broadcast time, last viewing time, and the like. The method of claim 12, wherein the searching step Receiving a user ID, a date, and a search request time; And After acquiring the preferred program profile, search for and select the preferred program in order of the scheduled program, the program with the most views, the program which will start the fastest among the reserved programs, and the program which will start the fastest among the unscheduled programs. Preferred program profile management method comprising the step of. The method of claim 12, wherein the booking step Receiving a user ID, a date, and a program name; And After acquiring the corresponding preferred program profile, mapping and storing a program name, a channel number, a final broadcast time, a next broadcast time, and whether to reserve each other on the corresponding preferred program profile. How to manage program profiles. 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the reservation flag is Preferred program profile management method characterized in that the set to be activated during the reservation step. When requesting a channel change according to the preferred channel mode, select channels by searching only the favorite programs in order of preference by time zone.When requesting channel change according to the basic channel mode, select channels by searching all channels sequentially and then multicast. An IPTV service control unit constituting forwarding information; An IPTV application server unit transmitting a stream for each channel for providing an IPTV service; And An IPTV delivery network unit for branching a channel-specific stream transmitted from the IPTV application server unit for each channel according to the multicast forwarding information configured by the IPTV service control unit; The IPTV service control unit A user profile that stores user information for watching a broadcast channel; A preferred program profile configured to correspond to each day of the week, and storing information on a preferred program for each time zone; An IPTV session control unit which grasps a user's requirements and a service environment and monitors a session state of a user's access to a broadcast channel to collect and manage viewing history information; A preference program manager configured to search for and notify the preference program while configuring the preference program profile with reference to the viewing history information under the control of the IPTV session controller; And A resource and channel controller for setting a network connection environment for allocating a stream of the selected channel, allocating bandwidth, and providing the multicast forwarding information; The preferred program management unit And searching for and selecting the preferred program in order of a reserved program, a program having a large number of views, a program to be started fastest among reserved programs, and a program to be started fastest among unscheduled programs. IPTV service system, characterized in that. delete The method of claim 20, IPTV service system, characterized in that the channel number, the last broadcast time, the next broadcast time, the last watch time, the last watch date, the number of views, the reservation flag is mapped and stored for each program name. delete The method of claim 20, wherein the IPTV section control unit If the latest viewing time is less than the minimum viewing time, the IPTV service system, characterized in that the request for registering a favorite program. The method of claim 20, wherein the IPTV section control unit And if the most recent viewing date of a specific program has passed a setting validity period, deleting the specific program from the preferred program profile. The method of claim 20, wherein the multicast forwarding information is And a plurality of ports corresponding to each multicast group, and a user list connected to each of the plurality of ports. The method of claim 20, wherein the IPTV network is An access router configured to process switching for each channel according to the multicast forwarding information; And And an edge router and a core router forming a multicast tree for each channel between the IPTV application server unit and the IPTV terminal. A channel control apparatus for selecting all channels by sequentially searching all the channels or selecting only the channels by searching only the favorite programs in order of preference by time period; An IPTV set-top box connected to an IPTV service system and receiving a stream of the selected channel from the IPTV service system; And A reproduction device for reproducing the stream of the selected channel, The channel control device A basic channel controller for sequentially searching for all programs and selecting a channel to be watched; And An IPTV terminal comprising a preferred channel control unit for selecting a channel to be viewed by viewing only the preferred programs according to the preferences for each time zone, or for reserving the program being viewed. delete delete

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