KR101467437B1 - Method for providing vod virtual channel service, electronic program guide including moving picture, and terminal therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of providing a broadcast program schedule table including a video on demand (VOD) virtual channel service and a video, and more particularly, to a method of providing a broadcast program schedule table including a VOD content by a virtual channel classified by the genre, The present invention relates to a method for providing a broadcast program schedule table.

According to the present invention, when a viewer selects VOD contents in IPTV, he / she can conveniently select a general TV channel by virtual channels classified according to the genre, and detailed broadcasting schedules are provided for programs provided in IPTV Allowing the viewer to view the video of the program of interest instantly, thereby making the channel selection more effective and convenient.

VOD, virtual channel, EPG, video

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing a program schedule including a video on demand (VOD) virtual channel service and a moving picture,

The present invention relates to a method of providing a broadcast program schedule table including a video on demand (VOD) virtual channel service and a video, and more particularly, to a method of providing a broadcast program schedule table including a VOD content by a virtual channel classified by the genre, The present invention relates to a method for providing a broadcast program schedule table.

In order to select the VOD to be watched in the existing IPTV, the menu selection step is performed several times. This is a very cumbersome and difficult process for a generation of viewers who are not familiar with computers, and has been a cause of avoiding VOD viewing itself. Also, even if you are a computer-savvy generation, there is a habit of watching TV when you want to watch it when you want, simply by turning the channel unlike when you use a computer. It is very troublesome to select through various menu steps.

In addition, in the electronic program guide (EPG) provided in the existing IPTV, since the program is selected by simply viewing the text information, while viewing information about the program in a state in which there is no information on the program, I could not. In order to solve this problem, an idea to provide an EPG that lists moving images of programs provided on the screen was presented.

However, there is very little program information that can be presented on one screen when the screen is filled with the videos, so that the program provided on each channel and the date and time of the broadcast are as clear as the TV broadcast schedule in the newspaper It was inefficient information provision for viewers to obtain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for providing VOD content in IPTV by using a virtual channel classified by the genre, The purpose is to be able to choose.

In addition, it is possible to promptly view a video of a program of interest in a screen provided with detailed broadcasting schedule for each channel for programs provided in IPTV, thereby providing a viewer with more effective and convenient channel selection.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a screen for allowing an IPTV terminal to select video on demand (VOD) content provided in an IPTV service system, (a) receiving and storing a preview moving picture about VOD contents, and VOD virtual channel information to which each VOD contents belong, from an IPTV service system; (b) Upon receiving a request to switch a virtual channel to another channel from the viewer during playback of the VOD content, one of the VOD contents provided on the switched virtual channel is played back on the screen, Displaying channel information and still images of VOD contents provided in the virtual channel on a screen for a predetermined number of times; (c) if one of the still images is selected from a viewer, reproducing a preview moving picture of the VOD content corresponding to the selected image on the screen; (d) downloading and storing a full version of VOD content corresponding to the preview moving picture from the IPTV service system during playback of the preview moving picture; And (e) playing back the full version of the VOD content corresponding to the preview moving picture successively to the preview moving picture playback when a predetermined time has elapsed without another request from the viewer during the playback of the preview moving picture .

The virtual channel information may include a virtual channel number and genre information of VOD contents provided in the virtual channel.

And when a focusing request is received from the viewer for one of the displayed VOD content still images, the magnitude of the requested still image is enlarged and displayed.

Upon receipt of a request to provide a still image for VOD contents other than the displayed still image, a certain number of VOD content still images on the next page or previous page of the displayed still image can be displayed on the screen.

The virtual channel switching request from the viewer can be made by the channel up, down button or remote mouse of the remote control.

The focusing request for the specific still image from the viewer or the VOD content still image request of the other page can be made by the left and right direction keys of the remote controller or the remote mouse.

The VOD content information including the TV broadcast date and the brief content information of the VOD content can be displayed together with the still image with respect to the enlarged still image.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing a broadcast program schedule table of a moving picture, the IPTV terminal comprising: (a) an electronic program guide (EPG) from an IPTV service system in response to a viewer's request to provide a broadcast channel schedule table; Receiving a stream including each channel program moving picture to be provided in a broadcast channel schedule table; (b) separating and decoding the program moving picture for each channel from the received stream; (c) providing, on a screen, a broadcast channel schedule table including program information provided for each broadcast channel and a still image of a provided program of the channel; (d) displaying a moving picture of a specific program provided in a channel including the program, instead of the still image, when the viewer focuses the specific program; And (e) when the viewer selects a specific channel, joining the selected channel and providing the program on the channel to the entire screen.

It is preferable that the broadcast channel schedule table screen is rolled so that a program schedule table of another broadcast channel or another broadcast date and time is displayed by a left or right direction key of the remote controller or a channel up or down button.

The broadcast channel included in the broadcast channel schedule table may include a real time broadcast channel or a virtual channel in which VOD contents are channelized by genre.

In the case of a real-time broadcast channel, the broadcast channel schedule table may further include date and time information for programs provided in each broadcast channel.

In the case of a real-time broadcast channel, the program video displayed in the step (d) may be a video of a program currently being broadcast on a channel focused by the viewer.

In the case of a virtual channel in which VOD content is channelized by genre, the program video displayed in step (d) may be a video of a program focused by a viewer.

The program video displayed on the virtual channel item of the broadcast channel schedule table by the focusing of the viewer may be a preview video for each VOD content received and stored in advance from the IPTV service system.

The broadcast channel schedule table may include at least one of a broadcast schedule information of a real time broadcast channel and a virtual channel displayed together with a request of providing a broadcast channel schedule table of a viewer or a broadcast channel schedule information of a real time broadcast channel and a virtual channel Can be displayed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an IPTV terminal providing a broadcast channel schedule table including moving pictures, the IPTV terminal comprising: a multiplexer for receiving multiplexed channel program information (EPG), a moving picture stream for a channel, A stream receiving unit; An EPG data storage unit for storing the received EPG and a packet of a moving picture stream for EPG; A moving picture decoding unit for dividing the AV stream for each channel by using a plurality of software decoders in the IPTV terminal to display the moving picture stream for EPG stored in the storage unit in a broadcast channel schedule table; A broadcast channel schedule table displaying a broadcast channel schedule table including a program provided for each channel, a broadcast date and time information thereof, and a still image of a program provided in each channel from the information included in the EPG; A selection video mapping unit for receiving a request for focusing one of the programs of the broadcast channel schedule table to display a video of a specific program provided in a channel including the focused program in a broadcast channel schedule table instead of the still image, ; And a controller for controlling the respective elements to perform a series of processes related to providing a broadcast channel schedule table.

The broadcast channel included in the broadcast channel schedule table may include a real time broadcast channel or a virtual channel in which VOD contents are channelized by genre.

If the channel to which the program focused by the viewer belongs is a real time broadcast channel, the program video displayed by the selected video mapping unit may be a video of the program currently being broadcast on the channel focused by the viewer.

The IPTV terminal further includes a preview moving picture storage unit for storing a preview moving picture for each VOD content provided from the IPTV service system. The channel to which the program focused by the viewer belongs is a virtual channel The program video displayed by the selected video mapping unit may be a preview video of a program focused by the viewer.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing a screen for allowing an IPTV terminal to select VOD (video on demand) content provided in an IPTV service system by a virtual channel set for each genre, ) Receiving and storing a virtual channel mapping table in which provided VOD contents are classified according to genres and virtual channel numbers assigned to respective genres and VOD contents provided to viewers by respective virtual channel numbers are received from the IPTV service system ; (b) receiving a request to provide a VOD service from a viewer and searching for a specific virtual channel number in the virtual channel mapping table when receiving a request to switch from the viewer to a specific virtual channel among the virtual channels provided by the VOD service; ; (c) displaying, on the IPTV terminal screen, a list of VOD contents mapped to the retrieved virtual channel number in the virtual channel mapping table; (d) transmitting an identifier of the selected VOD content to the IPTV service system when a specific VOD content selected from the list of VOD contents mapped to the virtual channel number is selected by the viewer; And (e) receiving the selected VOD contents from the IPTV service system and providing the selected VOD contents to the IPTV terminal screen.

The identifier of the VOD content may be an URL (uniform resource locator) address at which the VOD content is located or an ID that can identify the VOD content.

When there is a change in the virtual channel mapping table, the IPTV terminal can download and store the changed virtual channel mapping table from the IPTV service system.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that a viewer can conveniently select a general TV channel by rotating a virtual channel classified by the genre without having to select a menu at various stages in selecting VOD contents in IPTV.

In addition, it is possible to immediately check the video of a program of interest in a screen provided with detailed broadcasting schedule for each channel for the programs provided in IPTV, thereby providing a more effective and convenient channel selection to viewers.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an IPTV network.

The IPTV service system 500 includes an IPTV head-end system 200 and a VOD server 20.

The IPTV head-end system 200 includes broadcasting contents supplied from each broadcasting contents provider 10 such as a program provider (PP), a data provider (DP), a terrestrial provider or an IPTV contents provider (CP) And an electronic program guide (EPG) information for the broadcast contents to the IPTV terminal 100 of the IPTV viewer. The IPTV head end system 200 is connected to a subscriber switch (L3 switch) 350, a subscriber concentrator (xDSL aggregation device, DSLAM, etc.) via a Gigabit or higher-speed router and a L3 switch using a multicast routing protocol of the premium network 300 Or FES (Fast Ethernet Switch)) 360 to the IPTV terminal 100 of a plurality of subscribers joined to the corresponding channel by multicast. The multicast routing protocol may be a Protocol Independent Multicast-Sparse Mode (PIM-SM) protocol, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the multicast routing protocol may be a Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol (DVMRP), a Multicast Extensions to OSPF (MOSPF) Based tree, a Protocol Independent Multicast-Sparse Mode (PIM-SM), and a Protocol Independent Multicast-Dense Mode (PIM-DM).

The VOD server 20 is a server for providing VOD contents to the IPTV terminal.

The IP network may include an IP backbone network (eg, Ethernet, xDSL, HFC, FTTC, FTTH) using an unicast or multicast routing protocol, an IP set- And an IPTV terminal 20 including a TV connected to the STB.

The IP backbone network includes a premium network 300, respective routers including a Rendezvous Point (RP) 310 and a Premium Edge (PE) router 320 therein, a metro switch (L3 switch) 330 ), An N-Topia switch (L3 switch) 340 (N-Topia: a service that uses the high-speed Internet through LAN equipment installed in a collective building where UTP is installed), and a subscriber switch (L3 switch) Each of the Layer 3 network equipment uses a PIM-SM multicast routing protocol and the IPTV terminal 20 and the subscriber aggregation device 360 use an Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) and an IGMP Snooping protocol, respectively. The subscriber concentrator 360 may be an xDSL aggregation device, a DSLAM, or a Fast Ethernet Switch (FES).

The rendezvous point 310 of the premium network 300 manages a PIM Join List and a PIM Prune (Release) list for a plurality of multicast groups. In the present invention, a broadcast channel is a multicast group multicast group). Therefore, a join list and a prune list are managed for a plurality of broadcast channels.

The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is used between an IPTV terminal 20 requesting a broadcast channel selection / release and a Layer 3 network equipment (e.g., a subscriber switch 350) accepting the request.

The IGMP Snooping protocol is a Layer 2 device (e.g., a subscriber aggregation device (e.g., a subscriber aggregation device) located between a subscriber's IPTV terminal 20 requesting channel selection / release and a Layer 3 network device The Layer 2 equipment (subscriber concentrator 360) in which the IGMP Snooping protocol is driven recognizes the IGMP transmission / reception messages between the IPTV terminal 20 and the Layer 3 network equipment, And transmits the channel information to the IPTV terminal 20 only.

The subscriber network refers to a network between a Layer 2 device (e.g., subscriber concentrator 360) and an IPTV terminal 20. The subscriber network includes Ethernet, xDSL (ADSL, VDSL), Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) A fiber to the curb, and a fiber to the home (FTTH) structure.

The IPTV terminal 100 can use either a TV having an IP set-top box (IP STB) or an IP set-top box connected to a user's TV, a computer, a notebook computer, or a personal portable terminal. Hereinafter, the terminal of the IPTV user is referred to as 'IPTV terminal' for the sake of convenience. The IPTV terminal 100 includes a hardware layer composed of hardware such as a CPU, a media processor, a flash RAM, and an Ethernet module, a system software layer including a device driver and an operating system, a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) Java Network Interface), ACAP API (ACAP-J, ACAP-X API) (Java TV, Havi UI, JMF, DAVIC, CA Interface), Conditional Access System (CAS) MPEG2, MPEG4, and MPEG-4 (MPEG4), which is a middleware layer with streaming protocol (RTP, RTSP), API for the IP media service (Navigator, Audio streaming API, VOD, Flash player, HDS Client and SSO Client) , H.264, WMV-9, and other codecs, and includes four layers of an electronic program guide (EPG) client and application layer. The subscriber's IPTV terminal 100 is assigned an IPv4 address or an IPv6 address.

2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an IPTV head end system 200. As shown in FIG.

Referring to the drawings, an IPTV head end system 200 includes a baseband system 205, a compression system 210, a multiplexing system 215, an EPG providing system 220, a data broadcasting system 225, 215, and the compression system 210 includes a broadcast encoder 210.1 and an encoder 210.2 for EPG. (RPS), a personalization authentication server (HDS), a media management core (MOC), a reception restriction system, a billing processing system, a monitoring system, and the like, although not shown in the figure. And a subscriber management system.

The baseband system 205 receives an MPEG-2 broadcasting signal or an analog broadcasting signal from a terrestrial wave from an external program provider PP and converts the received source broadcasting signal into an SDI And distributes broadcasting video and audio signals of a plurality of broadcasting channels (for example, 100 channels) through a routine switcher, and generates a subtitle generator CG and an automatic program controller (APC) (Signal editing and processing) to the compression multiplexing system (or multiplexing system) 210 by inserting at least one of an advertisement, a logo, and a subtitle into the broadcast video and audio signal by a controller. The baseband system 205 includes a tuner for receiving an analog broadcasting signal by a DS-3 optical ter- minerator, a Yagi antenna, an IRD (Integrated Receiver Decoder), and a received original signal A Frame Synchronizer for converting and calibrating SDI signals and synchronizing frames, an A / V router for connecting / concentrating all broadcast signal channels for operation management, And a character generator for editing and processing signals by inserting subtitles.

The compression system 210 inputs broadcast video and audio signals received from the baseband system 205 to A / V encoders for respective broadcasting channels (for example, 100 channels) Interface Compresses the video signal to the H.264 protocol and compresses the audio signal to MPEG-2 AAC. The encoding for providing such a broadcasting channel is performed by a plurality of broadcasting encoders 210.1. On the other hand, a moving picture to be included in an electronic program guide (EPG) provided to viewers can be encoded separately, and the encoding is performed by the EPG encoder 210.2. That is, the video and audio signals being transmitted from all the real-time broadcast channels are encoded for EPG, then multiplexed into one channel by the multiplexing system 215, and the multiplexed signal is provided to the IPTV terminal 100 as an EPG stream .

The multiplexing system 215 multiplexes data broadcasting data generated by a data encoder together with MPEG-2 TS, which is a compressed broadcasting image and audio, and program related information (PSI) generated by a PSI generator, Multiplexes the multiplexed MPEG-2 TS (Transport Stream) into an IP packet, and transmits the IP packetized transport stream to the network switch system 230. The program related information (PSI) includes a program association table (PAT) and program map table (PMT) information. As described above, multiplexing system 215 multiplexes the video and audio signals being transmitted from all real-time broadcast channels in the EPG encoder into a single channel, and multiplexes the encoded video and audio signals into EPG terminal 100 as an EPG stream. . That is, the EPG stream includes text information on a broadcast program, moving pictures being broadcast in all real-time channels, and thus, an IPTV terminal can provide an EPG including a moving picture in real-time broadcasting.

The EPG providing system 220 provides the IPTV terminal 100 with text information about a broadcast program on each channel.

The data broadcasting system (DBS) 225 includes a data manager for managing data encoding, a PSI generator / SI generator for generating program related information / service information (PSI / SI) A data server / data encoder for encoding data broadcasting data, a multiplexer manager (MM) for managing the multiplexing function of data for data broadcasting and PSI information and SI information, and a scheduler And a user interface (Scheduler UI). The data broadcasting system (DBS) 225 multiplexes data broadcasting data and PSI information generated by a data server / data encoder and a PSI generator / SI generator by an authoring tool according to a terrestrial ACAP data broadcasting standard , And transmits the SI information to the IP multiplexer. A data manager (DM) of the data broadcasting system (DBS) 225 receives an object carousel (OC) including periodically updated information received from a data agent (DA) do.

The network switch system 230 includes one or more L3 switches (L3 SW) for multicasting the IP packetized transport stream to the IP network, a return path server system and the subscriber terminal 100, One or more L4 switches (L4 SW) for connecting bidirectional data reception traffic between the L4 switch and the IP network and load-balancing the bidirectional data reception traffic between the L4 switches and the IP network, ≪ / RTI > In addition, IP multicasting can use IPv4 multicasting or IPv6 multicasting technology. In one embodiment, when the router and the L3 switch use the PIM-SM multicast routing protocol and the subscriber's IP set-top box uses the IPv4 address, IGMP v2 / v3 is used to perform L3 Switch to join the desired broadcast channel, or, if an IPv6 address is used, it is transmitted to the L3 switch using MLD v1 / v2 and joined to the corresponding broadcast channel.

When the network switch system 230 uses IPv4 multicasting, the IPv4 multicast address is changed from '224.0.0.0' to '239.255.255.255' by a plurality of broadcast channels (for example, 100 channels) Lt; / RTI > For example, when using IPv4 multicasting, the SBS may use a 230.1.1.1 multicast address, the KBS may use a 230.1.1.2 multicast address, and the EBS may use a 230.1.1.3 multicast address. When the PIM-SM multicast routing protocol is used, the network switch system 230 transmits a Register message to a rendezvous point (RP) 310 and a rendezvous point (RP) 310 transmits a PIM JOIN message To the network switch system 230 to register a rendezvous point (RP) 310 for setting a path.

The components included in the IPTV head end system 200, which are not shown in this figure, will be described below.

The return path server system records log information of a subscriber, processes bi-directional data by a data provider (DP), receives bi-directional data from a subscriber's IPTV terminal 100, To the IPTV terminal 100 by unicasting.

The personalization authentication server HDS transmits an authentication request message including the SAID of the IPTV terminal 100 for the IPTV service and the application service information to be used from the IPTV terminal 100 of the subscriber through the return path server system And transmits an authentication key (Unique Key, UK) to the subscriber's IPTV terminal (100) through the return path server system in response to the authentication request message.

The location information of the IPTV terminal 100 includes an ID (SAID) of the IPTV terminal 100 and subscriber information. The SAID of the IPTV terminal 100 is a unique ID given to the IPTV terminal 100. Also, the IPTV terminal 100 includes an SSO (Single Sign On) client and an HDS client for managing the opened terminal information, and the SAID of the terminal is stored in the HDS client in the IPTV terminal 100. The personalization authentication server (HDS authentication server) and the HDS client of the IPTV terminal 100 manage the information (SAID, IP address, MAC address, terminal model name) of the opened IPTV terminal 100. In the case of a service based on personal authentication, a single master PIN number (composed of four digits) may be allocated to a home and a plurality of PIN information may be allocated to a home member at the time of PIN (Personal Identification Number) authentication.

The Media Management Core (MOC) is a system for managing various business process information (program organization information, material information, contract information, product information, etc.) for operating a broadcasting business. The media management system manages broadcast program information, content and media management information, contract information of program providers (PP) and content providers (CP), and product information, and provides an organic combination And the information flow is managed through a coordinator (Coordinator). The media management system (MOC) provides real-time broadcasting and VoD channel organization in terms of contract management, media and content meta data management, EPG information acquisition / management and operation as broadcast schedule information in terms of acquisition, Management, agent management for interworking with each subsystem, VoD catalog creation management, various product management and analysis, marketing analysis reporting such as settlement with CP, propensity to view subscribers, and delivery Transmission monitoring, video server transmission management and VoD subscriber authentication, recording / managing transmission result for settlement with CP, and data synchronization with each linked subsystem.

The billing system is a provisioning system. When a user uses the IPTV service for a fee after the user authentication, the billing processing function for the use of the IPTV service is provided for each subscriber member.

The monitoring system is a control system, monitors the reception failure by monitoring the transmission failure of the A / V broadcasting signal for the IPTV broadcasting and the downlink of the IPTV head end system 200.

Subscriber management system provides member registration and termination for IPTV service and member information management function.

3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an IPTV terminal 100 that provides a moving image broadcast channel schedule table.

The control unit 101 controls each component of the IPTV terminal 100 described below to perform a series of processes related to providing a broadcast channel schedule table.

The stream receiving unit 102 receives the multiplexed channel program information (EPG), the moving picture stream for the channel, and the moving picture stream packet for the EPG from the IPTV service system.

The EPG data storage unit 103 stores the received EPG and packets of the moving picture stream for EPG.

The moving picture decoding unit 104 divides the AV stream for each channel by using a plurality of software decoders in the IPTV terminal to display the moving picture stream for EPG stored in the storage unit in the broadcasting channel schedule table.

The broadcast channel schedule table providing unit 105 displays a broadcast channel schedule table including a program provided for each channel, the broadcast date and time information, and a still image of a program provided on each channel from the information included in the EPG . The broadcast channel included in the broadcast channel schedule table may include a real time broadcast channel or a virtual channel in which VOD contents are channelized by genre. In the case of a real-time broadcast channel, it is preferable that the broadcast channel schedule table further includes date and time information for programs provided in each broadcast channel.

The selected moving picture mapping unit 106 receives a request for focusing one of the programs of the broadcast channel schedule table so that a moving picture of a specific program provided on a channel including the focused program is displayed on a broadcast channel schedule table .

The preview moving picture storage unit 107 stores a preview moving picture for each VOD content provided from the IPTV service system 500.

If the channel to which the program focused by the viewer belongs is a real time broadcast channel, the program video displayed by the selected video mapping unit is a video of the program currently being broadcast on the channel focused by the viewer.

However, when the channel to which the program focused by the viewer belongs is a virtual channel in which the VOD contents are channelized by genre, the program video displayed by the video mapping unit is a preview video of a program focused by the viewer, The storage unit 107 stores the preview moving picture.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing a VOD genre-specific virtual channel selection screen by the IPTV terminal.

The virtual channel is a channel number assigned to each of the genres such as movie, health, infant, and drama, which is provided by the IPTV service system 500, So that you can easily select VOD content.

The IPTV terminal 100 receives virtual channel information including the preview video of the provided VOD contents, the VOD virtual channel number to which each VOD content belongs, and genre information of the provided VOD contents from the IPTV service system 500 (S401). When receiving a request to switch a virtual channel from a viewer to another channel while reproducing a specific VOD content selected by a viewer, one of the VOD contents provided in the converted virtual channel is reproduced on the screen, The virtual channel information of the virtual channel and the thumb nail of the still image of the VOD contents provided in the virtual channel are displayed on the screen by a predetermined number, for example, five (S402).

The virtual channel information may be a virtual channel mapping table in which the provided VOD contents are categorized by genre, a virtual channel number assigned to each genre, and a virtual channel mapping table in which VOD contents to be provided to viewers are mapped to each virtual channel number. That is, when the viewer requests to switch to a specific virtual channel among the virtual channels provided by the VOD service as described above, the viewer searches for the specific virtual channel number in the virtual channel mapping table, Can be displayed on the screen of the IPTV terminal.

The virtual channel switching request from the viewer can be made by the channel up, down button, number input or remote mouse of the remote controller.

When a viewer focuses a specific thumbnail image using a remote controller or a public mouse (S403), the thumbnail of the focused content is displayed in an enlarged size as compared with other images (S404). The VOD contents information including the TV broadcast date and brief contents information of the VOD contents can be displayed together with the enlarged still image with respect to the enlarged still image.

When receiving a request to provide a still image thumbnail for VOD contents other than the content displayed as a thumbnail image on the current screen as VOD contents provided by the virtual channel, the next page of the currently displayed thumbnail still image or the previous page A predetermined number (for example, five) VOD contents thumbnail images are displayed on the screen (S405). The VOD contents still image request of another page from the viewer can be made by the left and right direction keys of the remote controller or the remote mouse.

When one of the thumbnail still images is selected from the viewer (S406), a preview video of the VOD content corresponding to the thumbnail is reproduced on the screen. In this case, in order to continuously watch the VOD content, The full version video of the VOD content is downloaded from the service system 500 and stored or received by streaming (S407). When a predetermined time elapses without a request from the viewer during the preview moving picture playback, thumbnail still images are erased on the screen, and the full version of the VOD content corresponding to the preview moving picture is played successively following the preview moving picture playback .

When the VOD contents list mapped to the virtual channel number or specific VOD contents of the thumbnail still images is selected by the viewer, the selected VOD contents are received from the IPTV service system and selected to provide the selected VOD contents to the IPTV terminal screen The identifier of the VOD content may be an URL (uniform resource locator) address where the VOD content is located or an ID that can identify the VOD content.

Meanwhile, when there is a change in the virtual channel mapping table, the IPTV terminal can download and store the changed virtual channel mapping table from the IPTV service system.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing a moving image including broadcasting channel schedule table by the IPTV terminal.

In response to the viewer's request to provide a broadcast channel schedule table, a stream including a program video of each channel to be provided in an electronic program guide (EPG) and a broadcast channel schedule table is received from the IPTV service system 500 in operation S501. The program moving picture is separated from the received stream for each channel, and the moving picture of each channel is decoded (S502). In step S503, a broadcast channel schedule table including the provided program information and a still image of the provided program for each broadcast channel is provided on the screen.

The broadcast channel included in the broadcast channel schedule table may include a real time broadcast channel or a virtual channel in which VOD contents are channelized by genre. In the case of a real-time broadcast channel, it is preferable that the broadcast channel schedule table further includes date and time information for programs provided in each broadcast channel. The broadcast channel schedule table screen may include a program schedule table of broadcast dates and times that are not displayed on the current screen or on a broadcast channel that is not displayed on the current screen by the left and right direction keys of the remote controller or channel up or down buttons, (Step S504).

The broadcast channel schedule table may be configured to display together broadcast channel schedule information of a real time broadcast channel and a virtual channel at the time of requesting a broadcast channel schedule list of a viewer or to select a viewer among real time broadcast channel schedule information and virtual channel broadcast schedule information So that only one of them can be displayed.

When a viewer focuses a specific program by using a remote controller, a public mouse, or the like (S505), at the position where the still image on the program schedule table appears, The video can be displayed (S506). In the case of a real time broadcast channel, the specific program on which the moving picture is displayed on the program schedule table may be a program currently being broadcast on the channel focused by the viewer. Or a virtual channel in which VOD contents are channelized by genre, a specific program on which a moving picture is displayed on the program schedule table may be a moving picture of VOD contents focused by a viewer. In the case of VOD contents, it is preferable to display a preview moving picture for each VOD contents received and stored in advance from the IPTV service system 500.

When a viewer selects a real time channel (S507), the program joins the channel and provides a program that is being broadcast on the channel to the entire screen (S508). When a specific VOD content is selected (S507) (S508).

6 is a diagram showing an embodiment 600 of a VOD genre-specific virtual channel selection screen.

A virtual channel for a VOD genre such as a movie, a health, an infant, a drama, etc. is constructed and a preview image of the program is downloaded to the terminal so that the user can channelize the video by pressing the channel up or down button during video reproduction. When channeling is performed, a virtual channel number, a channel name, a content title, a number of times, and a subtitle are displayed at the upper right of the screen (601). At the bottom of the screen, five thumbnails of programs in the channel are displayed (602) When the focus is on the rightmost thumbnail of the screen, pressing the right arrow key will scroll to the next page and show five thumbnails. Also, in this case, instead of using the left and right direction keys, a pointer is positioned on the thumbnail by using a public mouse, and the program is selected by clicking the mouse. When the rolling is performed by using the rolling function, the focus is shifted one by one to each thumbnail Allowing the user to navigate the program. The focused thumbnail expresses the effect of enlarging the size (603), and the date and detail information are displayed at the bottom of the thumbnail (604) to help the user to select the content. If the user selects one of the thumbnails, the VOD selected in the entire screen is reproduced (605), and the band 602 of the thumbnail disappears after a predetermined time. In the case of a real-time channel, detailed information of the thumbnail is additionally displayed to allow the user to know the programs before and after the currently broadcasted program at a glance so that the programmed information can be easily viewed during watching the video.

7 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment 700 of a moving image broadcast channel schedule table.

A schedule of a real-time broadcast channel 701 and a virtual channel 702 obtained by channelizing VOD contents is shown at a glance. A thumbnail 703 of the currently broadcast program is displayed at the top of the screen, and a moving picture is played when focused.

In the case of the real time broadcast channel as described above with reference to FIG. 5, the specific program in which the moving picture is displayed on the program schedule table may be the program 704 currently being broadcast on the channel focussed by the viewer. Or a virtual channel in which VOD contents are channelized by genre, a specific program on which the moving picture is displayed on the program schedule table may be a moving picture of the VOD contents 705 focused by the viewer. In the case of VOD contents, it is preferable to display a preview moving picture for each VOD contents received and stored in advance from the IPTV service system 500.

The horizontal axis shows the channel information and the vertical axis shows the date and time. In the case of the real time channel, the time and program name are shown. In the case of the virtual channel, only the program name is shown. The user can select a VOD virtual channel schedule table without time information or a real time broadcast channel schedule table having time information in the EPG so that only one of the EPGs can be selected and viewed. In this case, the program is searched in up, down, left, and right motions by using a public mouse while the program table is opened, and a program can be selected and executed by pointing.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an IPTV network;

2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an IPTV head-end system;

3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an IPTV terminal providing a moving image including broadcasting channel schedule table.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing a virtual channel selection screen for each VOD genre by an IPTV terminal.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing a moving image including broadcasting channel schedule table by an IPTV terminal.

6 is a view showing an embodiment of a VOD genre-specific virtual channel selection screen;

7 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a moving image broadcast channel schedule table;

Claims (27)

delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete A method for providing a broadcast channel schedule table including a moving picture, (a) receiving a stream including a still image of each channel program to be provided in an electronic program guide (EPG) and a broadcast channel schedule table from an IPTV service system in response to a request for providing a broadcast channel schedule table of a viewer; (b) providing a broadcast channel schedule table including program information provided for each broadcast channel and a still image of a provided program of the channel on a screen; And (c) displaying a moving picture of a specific program provided in a channel including the program instead of the still image, when the viewer focuses the specific program; , ≪ / RTI & Wherein the broadcast channel included in the broadcast channel schedule table screen comprises: A real time broadcast channel or a virtual channel in which VOD contents are channelized by genre, Wherein when a real time broadcast channel is included in a broadcast channel of the broadcast channel schedule table screen, the stream received at the step (a) includes a program video currently being broadcast in each real time broadcast channel, Between the step (a) and the step (b) (a1) separating and decoding the program moving picture included in the received stream for each channel, and decoding the program moving picture included in the received stream. The method of claim 10, Wherein the broadcast channel schedule table screen comprises: A program can be rolled so that a program schedule table of another broadcast channel or another broadcast date and time is displayed by a left or right arrow key or a channel up or down button of the remote controller Wherein the moving picture includes a moving picture. delete The method of claim 10, In the case of a real-time broadcast channel, That the program provided in each broadcast channel further includes date and time information on which the programs are broadcast Wherein the moving picture includes a moving picture. delete The method of claim 10, If the program focused on the viewer in the step (c) is a program provided in a real time broadcast channel, Wherein the program moving picture displayed in the step (c) is a moving picture of a program currently being broadcast on a channel on which the program focused by the viewer is provided Wherein the moving picture includes a moving picture. The method of claim 10, If the program focused by the viewer in step (c) is a program provided on a virtual channel obtained by channelizing VOD contents by genre, Wherein the program moving picture displayed in the step (c) is a moving picture of a program focused by the viewer Wherein the moving picture includes a moving picture. 18. The method of claim 16, The program video displayed on the virtual channel item of the broadcast channel schedule table by the focusing of the viewer, It is a preview video of each VOD contents received and stored in advance from the IPTV service system Wherein the moving picture includes a moving picture. The method of claim 10, When a broadcast channel of the broadcast channel schedule table screen includes a real time broadcast channel, After step (c) (d1) when a viewer selects a specific program in one of the real-time broadcasting channels, joining the selected program to the current screen to provide a program currently being broadcast on the channel to the entire screen; The method of any preceding claim, further comprising the step of: The method of claim 10, When a broadcast channel of the broadcast channel schedule table screen includes a virtual channel in which VOD contents are channelized by genre, After step (c) (d2) when a viewer selects a specific VOD content from one of the virtual channels, providing the VOD content movie to the entire screen; The method of any preceding claim, further comprising the step of: A method for providing a broadcast channel schedule table including a moving picture, (a) receiving a stream including a still image of each channel program to be provided in an electronic program guide (EPG) and a broadcast channel schedule table from an IPTV service system in response to a request for providing a broadcast channel schedule table of a viewer; (b) providing a broadcast channel schedule table including program information provided for each broadcast channel and a still image of a provided program of the channel on a screen; And (c) displaying a moving picture of a specific program provided in a channel including the program instead of the still image, when the viewer focuses the specific program; , ≪ / RTI & Wherein the broadcast channel included in the broadcast channel schedule table screen comprises: A real time broadcast channel or a virtual channel in which VOD contents are channelized by genre, The broadcast channel schedule table includes: When a viewer requests to provide a broadcast channel schedule table, broadcast channel schedule information of a real time broadcast channel and a virtual channel are displayed together, Only one of the broadcast channel combination information of the real-time broadcast channel and the virtual channel is displayed by the viewer's selection Wherein the moving picture includes a moving picture. delete delete delete delete A method of providing a screen enabling an IPTV terminal to select VOD (video on demand) content provided in an IPTV service system by a virtual channel set for each genre, (a) receiving and storing a virtual channel mapping table in which VOD contents provided are mapped according to a genre, virtual channel numbers assigned to respective genres, and VOD contents provided to viewers by respective virtual channel numbers, from an IPTV service system ; (b) receiving a request to provide a VOD service from a viewer and searching for a specific virtual channel number in the virtual channel mapping table when receiving a request to switch from the viewer to a specific virtual channel among the virtual channels provided by the VOD service; ; (c) displaying, on the IPTV terminal screen, a list of VOD contents mapped to the retrieved virtual channel number in the virtual channel mapping table; (d) transmitting an identifier of the selected VOD content to the IPTV service system when a specific VOD content selected from the list of VOD contents mapped to the virtual channel number is selected by the viewer; And (e) receiving the selected VOD contents from the IPTV service system and providing the selected VOD contents to an IPTV terminal screen; , ≪ / RTI & The identifier of the VOD content may include: Wherein the VOD content is an URL (uniform resource locator) address at which the VOD content is located or an ID that can identify the VOD content. delete 26. The method of claim 25, When there is a change in the virtual channel mapping table, The IPTV terminal downloads and stores a changed virtual channel mapping table from the IPTV service system Wherein the VOD selection service is provided by a genre-specific virtual channel.

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