KR20080110083A - Tiled-display system and synchronization method in the system - Google Patents

Abstract

A tiled display system and a synchronization method in the system are provided to perform the synchronizing work between slave units in real time without separate overhead or error in order to perform the synchronizing work between a master unit and a slave unit. A tiled display system comprises a plurality of slave units(40-46) respectively having a display part, and a master unit(30) which transmits media data to the slave unit to reproduce the data. The controller(310) of the master unit includes a master synchronization module(311) and a broadcasting module(312) which transmits media data to be reproduced and a play start time to the slave unit. The controller(410) of a slave device includes a slave system clock, a slave synchronization module(411), a data receiving module(412) and a reproducing module(413).

Description

Tiled display system and synchronization method in the system

1 is a block diagram illustrating a typical tiled display system by way of example.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an entire tiled display system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart sequentially illustrating an operation of a synchronization module of a master device of a tiled display system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart specifically illustrating a process of calculating a transmission delay time (Transmission_Delay) by a synchronization module of a master device of a tiled display system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a playback start time generated by the broadcast module of a master device of a tiled display system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a synchronization module of a slave controller of a slave device of a tiled display system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart sequentially illustrating an operation of a data receiving module of a slave controller of a slave device of a tiled display system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

8 illustrates an operation of a playback module of a slave controller of a slave device of a tiled display system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

20: tiled display system

30: master unit

310: master control unit

311: synchronization module

312 broadcast module

320: master communication interface unit

40, ..., 46: slave device

400: display

410: slave controller

411: synchronization module

412 data receiving module

413 playback module

420: slave communication interface unit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tiled-display system, and more particularly, to a method for synchronizing video playback in a tiled display system.

In general, the liquid crystal display device, which is a flat panel display device, has been in the spotlight in place of the CRT monitor, and the liquid crystal display device has various advantages such as thinning and low power consumption compared to the CRT monitor. have. Recently, the technology has been developed in order to pursue a high quality and a large screen, but the liquid crystal display device is limited in size due to its characteristics, and the maximum screen size of the liquid crystal display device known to date is about 40 inches in theory. In order to overcome these limitations, tiled liquid crystal display devices in which several sheets of liquid crystal display devices are planarly connected have been developed and put into practical use.

A tiled liquid crystal display device is provided with a plurality of small LCD modules having a size of 6 × 6 inches or 6 × 8 inches in a frame as shown in US Patent Nos. 4,980,775, 5,067,021, 5,068,740, and 5,079,636. Each LCD module constituting the conventional tiled liquid crystal display is controlled using a single controller as shown in FIG. 1, or a controller and memory are configured and controlled for each LCD module. Can be distinguished. However, the above-described methods have a problem in that a deviation occurs in time when a control signal or a data signal is input for each block due to a delay, and the screen is distorted accordingly.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a typical tiled display system by way of example. As shown in FIG. 1, a tiled display is provided with a large resolution by having a master PC and a plurality of slave PCs with separate displays, which is illustratively depicted in a 3 × 2 tiled display system. As a method for playing real-time video on such a tiled display, as shown in FIG. 2, the master PC broadcasts a video source to each slave PC, and each slave PC displays a portion of an image corresponding to its own display. There is a way to play. In this manner, in order for each display connected to each slave PC to play a synchronized video, synchronization between playback devices of each slave PC and the master PC must be performed.

The conventional method for the above-described synchronization is that the master PC periodically transmits synchronization information to each slave PC, and playback devices of each slave PC play video frames based on the synchronization information periodically received from the master PC. However, this method has the following problems. First, an error may occur in synchronization when a difference in arrival delay time of periodically transmitted synchronization information occurs. In particular, when these errors accumulate, synchronization may be greatly off, and thus complicated processing is required. Second, there is an overhead in the transmission of synchronization information periodically.

Accordingly, the present applicant intends to propose a simple and stable synchronization method for displaying a video on a tiled display.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to perform a stable synchronization operation without overhead without any error in the synchronization for video playback between the master device and the slave devices constituting the tiled display system To provide a tiled display system and a synchronization method.

A feature of the present invention for achieving the above-described technical problem relates to a tiled display system comprising a plurality of slave devices each having a display and a master device for transmitting and playing media data to the slave devices.

The master control unit of the master device

A master synchronization module for performing synchronization with the slave devices using a master system clock MTSYS in a master device, and

Start playing with the slave device, the time (START TIME _) and playback includes a broadcasting module for transmitting media data,

The slave controller of the slave device

A slave synchronization module configured to set a reference reference clock STREF _{base which} is a synchronization reference point with the master device using the slave system clock STSYS and the master system clock in the slave device;

Receives the playback start time and the media data to be transmitted from the master device and stores them in a buffer, and determines whether the playback start time is determined using the reference reference clock STREF _base and the slave system clock STSYS of the current time. A data receiving module for generating and transmitting a reproduction signal;

And a reproducing module for reproducing the media data stored in the buffer according to the reproducing signal from the data receiving module.

The slave synchronization module of the slave device having the above-described characteristics is provided with a master reference clock MTSYS ₀ and a transmission delay time Transmission_Delay from the master device, and a slave system at the time when the master reference clock MTSYS ₀ is received. Sets the clock as the slave reference clock ( STSYS ₀ ), sets the sum of the master reference clock ( MTSYS ₀ ) and the transmission delay time (Transmission_Delay) as the reference reference clock ( STREF _base ), and at any time. reference clock (STSYS _n) of (n) is - preferably to obtain the (slave system clock of the time the slave clock based on a reference clock based on +),

The data receiving module is used for calculating the reference clock of the current time, if the current of the reference clock time equal to or greater than the playback start time (START _ TIME), it is preferable to transmit by generating a reproduction signal to the reproduction module .

Starts the reproduction in the system having the aforementioned features time (START TIME _) is the system clock of the master device ₍₂ MTSYS ), The delay time c until the master device transmits the reproduction start time and starts broadcasting, and the initial buffering time INITIAL_BUF_TIME of the slave device is preferably combined.

Synchronization method in a slave device constituting a tiled display system according to another aspect of the present invention,

Receiving a master reference clock MTSYS ₀ from an external master device;

Setting a slave system clock at the time of receiving the master reference clock MTSYS ₀ as a slave reference clock STSYS ₀ and transmitting delay time information d to the master device;

Receiving a transmission delay time (Transmission_Delay) from the master device,

Setting a sum of the master reference clock MTSYS ₀ and a transmission delay time Transmission_Delay as a reference reference clock STREF _base ,

Obtaining a reference clock STSYS _{n at an} arbitrary time n as (slave system clock-slave reference clock + reference reference clock at that time),

Receiving from the master device starts playback time (START TIME _) and reproduce transmitting media data, the media data is a step of storing in a buffer;

Calculating a reference clock at the current time,

If provided with a current when the reference clock time equal to or greater than the playback start time (START TIME _), the step of playing the media data stored in the buffer.

Hereinafter, a tiled display system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a block diagram illustrating the tiled display system 20 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention as a whole. Referring to FIG. 2, a tiled display system 20 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a master device 30 and a plurality of slave devices 40, 41,..., 46. Since the present invention relates to the synchronization between the master device and the slave devices of the tiled display system, only the configuration and operations related to the synchronization will be described in detail.

In the tiled display system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a reference reference clock, which is a synchronization reference point, is generated between the master device and each slave device before playing a video, and during playback, the reference reference clock and the slave system of each slave device are played. By generating a reference clock using the clock, and using the generated reference clock, it is characterized in that the transmission and reception of the separate synchronization-related information between the master device and the slave device during playback.

The master device 30 includes a master controller 310 and a master communication interface 320, and the master controller 310 obtains a synchronization module 311 and each slave device for obtaining a synchronization reference point with the slave devices. And broadcast module 312 for transmitting the media data. The master device 30 described above performs clock synchronization with each slave device, and then transmits media data to be played to all slave devices. The master device according to the present invention may be implemented using a PC, or may also be implemented using a controller manufactured to perform the same function. The master communication interface 320 performs data transmission and reception between the master device and the slave device under the control of the master controller.

The slave devices 40,..., 46 each have a display 400, a slave controller 410 and a slave communication interface 420, each of which comprises a synchronization module 411 and a data receiving module 412. ) And a playback module 413. The slave devices having the above-described configuration reproduce and output the media data transmitted from the master device to the corresponding display 400 after clock synchronization with the master control device 30. The slave device may be implemented as a PC, or may be implemented using a controller manufactured to perform the same function.

Hereinafter, operations of the respective components of the master device and the slave devices configuring the tiled display system according to the present invention will be described in detail.

First, an operation of the synchronization module 311 of the master controller 310 of the master device 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3. 3 is a flowchart sequentially showing the operation of the synchronization module 311 of the master device.

Referring to FIG. 3, after selecting a slave device that is not clock synchronized (step 350), calculating a transmission delay time (Transmission_Delay) with the selected slave device (step 360), and calculating the calculated transmission delay time to the corresponding slave device. In operation 370, the clock synchronization with the slave device is completed. The above steps 350 to 370 are repeatedly performed until clock synchronization is completed for all slave devices.

Hereinafter, a process of calculating a transmission delay time (Transmission_Delay) in step 360 described above with reference to FIG. 4 will be described in detail. Referring to FIG. 4, the master device and the slave device perform three times of communication to obtain a synchronization reference point. First, the master device transmits the master reference clock MTSYS ₀ to the slave device. The slave device transmits the master reference clock MTSYS ₀ to the slave reference clock STSYS ₀ which is the system clock of the slave device at the moment of receiving the master reference clock MTSYS ₀ from the master device. ) And a delay time ( d = STSYS ₁ - STSYS ₀ ), which is a difference between the system clock STSYS ₁ of the slave device and the retransmission, are transmitted to the master device. The master device checks the system clock MTSYS ₁ of the master device at the moment received from the slave device. The master device obtains a transmission delay time (Transmission_Delay) according to Equation 1 below.

Transmission_Delay = ( MTSYS ₁ - MTSYS _0- ( STSYS ₁ - STSYS ₀ )) / 2

The master device transmits the transmission delay time (Transmission_Delay) obtained through the first and second communication to the slave device.

On the other hand, has received a transmission delay (Transmission_Delay) from the master device, the slave device can know that the master system clock of the reference clock in the slave _{(STSYS 0) MTSYS 0 + Transmission_Delay} . Accordingly, the slave device sets the reference reference clock STREF _base , which is a synchronization reference point, as the sum of the master reference clock MTSYS ₀ and the transmission delay time Transmission_Delay, and the reference clock at an arbitrary time n . ( STSYS _n ) is set to (slave system clock at that time-slave reference clock + reference reference clock).

The system according to the present invention assumes that the master system clock and the slave system clock are the same. Therefore, after the reference reference clock STREF _base , which is a synchronization reference point, the slave device calculates the MTSYS value of the master at this point using STREFbase and its own system clock as in the method of obtaining STREF of FIG. It is possible to obtain the same MTSYS value of. At this time, if the system clock speed of each slave is different, this method is wrong. However, this problem can be solved by using a hardware clock as the slave's system clock. Because the speed difference of each slave's hardware clock is several seconds to several tens of days, the goal of synchronization when playing video on tiled display is that the error does not exceed about ± 120 msec. In all cases, it is possible to calculate the system clock of the master device within the synchronization error tolerance.

According to the above method, each slave device has the same reference clock, and the STSTRM value based on the reference clock is also the same, and synchronized playback is achieved by receiving the playback start time and the time stamp of video data from the master device in the same manner. It becomes possible.

After the broadcast module 312 in the controller 310 of the master device 30 calculates the playback start time (START _ TIME), and multicasting the reproduction start time to all of the slave device, the media data to be broadcast It transmits to all slave devices until the broadcast is completed.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the reproduction start time calculated by the broadcast module is a time at which each slave device starts reproduction, and is calculated by Equation 2 below.

START _ TIME = MTSYS ₂ + c + Transmission_Delay + INITIAL _ BUF _ TIME

Where MTSYS ₂ Is the system clock of the master device, c is the delay time until the master device starts broadcasting after transmitting the playback start time, and INITIAL_BUF_TIME is the initial buffering time of the slave device. The delay time c is actually difficult to predict but need not be an exact value. Because the reproduction start time (START TIME _) is is because, although not correct the value itself only to be just the same for each slave device. Therefore, the delay time c value may be used by defining an appropriate constant.

4 and 6, the synchronization module 411 of the slave controller 410 of the slave device 40 receives the master reference clock MTSYS ₀ from the master device (step 600), and the master reference. clock setting (MTSYS ₀₎ slave system clock, the slave reference clock (STSYS ₀₎ of the moment of receiving a (step 610), the delay time - the (d = STSYS ₁ STSYS ₀₎ and transmitted to the master device (step 620) In step 630, a transmission delay time (Transmission_Delay) is received from the master device. A reference reference clock STREF _base is set using Equation 3 using the received transmission delay time (step 640).

STREF _base = MTSYS ₀ + Transmission_Delay

On the other hand, in each slave device, the reference clock STREF _{n at} any time n is calculated by Equation 4 below, and each slave device plays the media data using the reference clock synchronized with the master device. Let's go.

STREF _n = STSYS _n  - STSYS ₀ + STREF _base

Where STSYS _n Is the slave system clock at that time (n) and STSYS ₀ Is the slave reference clock, STREF _base Is the reference reference clock.

Data receiving module 412 of the controller 410 of the slave device 40 receives a reproduction start from a master unit time (START TIME _) and media data. 7 is a flowchart sequentially illustrating the operation of the data receiving module 412.

Referring to FIG. 7, the data receiving module first receives an angle at the start of playback from a master device (step 700), and receives and stores media data in a buffer (step 710). If a termination message is received from the master device (step 720), playback is completed and ends.

If playback of the media data in the buffer is not started by the playback module (step 730), the current reference clock STREFn of the slave device is calculated (step 740). If the current reference clock is equal to or greater than the reproduction start time (step 750), the signal returns to step 710 after transmitting the reproduction start signal to the reproduction module (step 760). If not at step 750, the flow returns to step 710.

The playback module 413 of the controller 410 of the slave device 40 reads, decodes and plays back the media data stored in the buffer according to the playback start signal received from the data receiving module 412. 8 is a flowchart for sequentially explaining the operation of the playback module 413 of the controller of the slave device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 8, the operation of the playback module 413 will be described in detail.

Referring to FIG. 8, first, a reproduction start signal is received from the data receiving module 412 (step 800). Next, it is checked whether or not a playback complete message has been received from the data receiving module 412 (step 802). If a playback complete message is received, playback is completed and ends (step 860).

Next, the media data is read from the buffer (step 810), and the read media data is decoded (step 812). Next, if the current reference clock is less than the timestamp of the decoded media data (step 820), the flow returns to step 802.

If not, in step 820, after the sleep of the time stamp of the decoded data and the current reference clock difference (step 830), the decoded media data is rendered (step 840).

A slave device described above, by the present invention after receiving a playback start time (START_TIME) value from the master device, the reference and buffers the media data transmitted clock (STREF) the STSTRM when it is equal to the playback start time (START _ TIME) After setting to 0, STSTRM is increased to equal the speed of STREF , and the data is played when the timestamp of the buffered video data is equal to the STSTRM value.

According to the above method, each slave device has the same reference clock, and the STSTRM value based on the reference clock is also the same, and synchronized playback is achieved by receiving the playback start time and the time stamp of video data from the master device in the same manner. It becomes possible.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, this is merely an example and is not intended to limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art do not depart from the essential characteristics of the present invention. It will be appreciated that various modifications and applications which are not illustrated above in the scope are possible. And differences relating to such modifications and applications should be construed as being included in the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

According to the present invention, when a video is reproduced in a tiled display system, a synchronization operation between each slave may be performed in real time without additional overhead or error for synchronization between the master device and the slave device.

In addition, the present invention requires only one synchronization operation before playback to synchronize each slave device and the master device, thereby saving system and network resources and reducing errors as compared to the existing periodic synchronization information transmission. Will be.

Claims (7)

A tiled display system comprising a plurality of slave devices each having a display and a master device for transmitting and playing media data to the slave devices, The control unit of the master device A master synchronization module for performing synchronization with the slave devices using a master system clock MTSYS in a master device, and Start playing with the slave device, the time (START TIME _) and playback includes a broadcasting module for transmitting media data, The controller of the slave device A slave synchronization module configured to set a reference reference clock STREF _{base which} is a synchronization reference point with the master device using the slave system clock STSYS and the master system clock in the slave device; Receives the playback start time and the media data to be transmitted from the master device and stores them in a buffer, and determines whether the playback start time is determined using the reference reference clock STREF _base and the slave system clock STSYS of the current time. A data receiving module for generating and transmitting a reproduction signal; And a reproducing module for reproducing media data stored in a buffer according to a reproducing signal from the data receiving module. The slave synchronization module of claim 1, wherein the slave synchronization module receives a master reference clock MTSYS ₀ and a transmission delay time Transmission_Delay from the master device, and receives a slave system clock at the time when the master reference clock MTSYS ₀ is received. Set to the slave reference clock ( STSYS ₀ ), the sum of the master reference clock ( MTSYS ₀ ) and the transmission delay time (Transmission_Delay) is set to the reference reference clock ( STREF _base ), a random time ( n The reference clock STSYS _n ) is calculated as (slave system clock at the corresponding time-slave reference clock + reference reference clock). 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the playback start time (START TIME _) is the system clock of the master device ₍₂ MTSYS ), A delay time ( c ) from when the master device transmits the playback start time to the start of the broadcast, and the initial buffering time ( INITIAL_BUF_TIME ) of the slave device is determined. . The method of claim 2 wherein said data receiving module is used to calculate the reference clock of the current time, if the current time reference clock is the playback start time (START _ TIME) is greater than or equal to the reproduction by generating a reproduction signal Tiled display system characterized in that the transmission to the module. A synchronization method in a slave device constituting a tiled display system, Receiving a master reference clock MTSYS ₀ from an external master device; Setting a slave system clock at the time of receiving the master reference clock MTSYS ₀ as a slave reference clock STSYS ₀ and transmitting delay time information d to the master device; Receiving a transmission delay time (Transmission_Delay) from the master device, Setting a sum of the master reference clock MTSYS ₀ and a transmission delay time Transmission_Delay as a reference reference clock STREF _base , Reference clock (STSYS _n) of the arbitrary time (n), - obtaining the (slave system clock of the time reference the slave reference clock + clock reference) And a slave device of the tiled display system. The method of claim 5, wherein the synchronization method in the slave device is Receiving from the master device starts playback time (START TIME _) and reproduce transmitting media data, the media data is a step of storing in a buffer; Calculating a reference clock at the current time, If present when the reference clock time equal to or greater than the playback start time (START TIME _), the step of playing the media data stored in the buffer And a slave device of the tiled display system. The method of claim 6, wherein the playback start time (START TIME _) is the system clock of the master device ₍₂ MTSYS ), The delay time c until the master device transmits the playback start time and starts broadcasting, and the initial buffering time INITIAL _ BUF _ TIME of the slave device is determined. Method of synchronization in slave device of tiled display system.

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