KR20100137957A - Method for supporting pdr function and performing pdr service of pdr middleware and recorded medium recorded program performing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A PDR function support using PDR(Personal Digital Recording) middle ware, a PDR service providing method and a record medium recorded the program thereof are provided to use the PDR middle ware included in an IPTV(Internet Protocol TV) receiver thereby recording and playing IPTV broadcast contents and related data broadcast and providing the customized IPTV service based on the meta data. CONSTITUTION: An EPG(Electronic Program Guide) is composed through a meta data(S110). A recording request about a broadcast program according to the EPG is received(S120). A broadcasting program corresponding to the recording request is registered in a recording list(S130). AV(Audio/Video) contents corresponding to the broadcasting program are recorded and an application corresponding to the broadcasting program is downloaded and stored(S140). The AV contents and the application corresponding to the list selected from the recording list are generated as a service object according to the play request of a user(S150).

Description

Method for supporting PDR function and performing PDR service of PDR middleware and Recorded medium recorded program performing the same}

The present invention relates to a method for supporting a PDR function and processing a PDR service through a PDR middleware provided in an IPTV receiver, and a recording medium on which a program for performing the same is recorded.

IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service is an interactive television service that provides an information service, moving picture content, and broadcasting to a television receiver using the Internet network. In terms of convergence of the Internet and television, it is a type of digital convergence in which communication and broadcasting are converged.

It is different from general broadcasting service in that viewers can see only the programs they want to watch at a convenient time, and it is different from the existing Internet TV service in that they use a television receiver instead of a computer monitor and a remote control instead of a mouse.

To use the IPTV service, an IPTV receiver such as a set-top box connected to a television receiver and an Internet line is required. The user can simply search the Internet using the remote control and receive various contents and additional services provided by the Internet such as watching movies, home shopping, home banking, online games, and playing MP3s.

IPTV service is not different from general cable broadcasting or satellite broadcasting in that it provides broadcasting contents including video, but it is a feature that adds bidirectionality. In other words, unlike general public broadcasting, cable broadcasting or satellite broadcasting, viewers can see only programs they want to see at a convenient time.

In a multi-channel environment such as an IPTV service, a concept of a personalized broadcasting service that allows a user to select and select only a broadcasting program that he / she wants to see at a time desired by the user has appeared. To this end, a personal video recorder (PVR), which is widely used recently, is a digital recording that records and plays back information on a hard disk, unlike a video cassette recorder (VCR) that stores a video signal on a magnetic tape. Appliance. The hard disk built into the set-top box or television body allows users to record a certain amount of broadcast programs, depending on their capacity, without the need for a VCR.

The basic function is that it is not much different from the existing VCR in that it stores and views the program exported from the broadcasting station, but it records the information on the hard disk and plays it back with a file playback method such as a computer, and a central processing unit (CPU) for playback. The difference is that it contains a memory chip and a large hard disk containing the operating system and playback software.

Selecting a channel automatically saves the current broadcast signal to the hard disk and plays it back at the same time. Therefore, if the stop button is pressed and the play button is pressed again, the stored broadcast signal is played again from the point where it was stopped. You can also watch the program that's currently being broadcast, play it back in slow motion, or skip the boring part, making it easy to find and edit the part you want.

However, the conventional PVR was only able to store the AV content consisting of audio and video signals associated with the broadcast. In the above-described IPTV service, there is a limit in that the application provided with the broadcast program can not be recorded or played with the broadcast program using the PVR.

In addition, functions related to the PVR developed by the manufacturer of the IPTV receiver and each service only support fixed services that are already built in the manufacture of the IPTV receiver, thereby providing various PVR services by the service provider.

The background art described above is technical information possessed by the inventors for the derivation of the present invention or acquired during the derivation process of the present invention, and is not necessarily a publicly known technique disclosed to the general public before the application of the present invention.

The present invention provides an IPTV receiver capable of recording and playing back IPTV broadcast content and related data broadcasts in a PDR middleware included in an IPTV receiver supporting IPTV data broadcasting service, and providing various customized IPTV services based on metadata. To provide a method and apparatus for processing a PDR service in.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for supporting a PDR function in a PDR middleware provided in an IPTV receiver and a recording medium recording a program for performing the same are provided.

According to one or more exemplary embodiments, a method of supporting a PDR function of a PDR middleware includes: (a) configuring an electronic program guide (EPG) through metadata received by a metadata manager; (b) receiving a recording request for one of the broadcast programs according to the electronic program guide; (c) the recording manager registering the broadcast program corresponding to the recording request in a recording list; (d) recording the AV content corresponding to the broadcast program and downloading and storing an application corresponding to the broadcast program; (e) generating an AV content and an application corresponding to a selected list of the recording list as a service object according to a reproduction request by the user; (f) an application manager running an Xlet for the application of the service object and managing a life cycle; And (g) the media manager playing the AV content of the service object.

Step (f) and step (g) may be performed simultaneously.

The metadata manager may be supported by a TVAnytime API, the recording manager by a recording management API, and the application manager and the media manager by a playback API and a timeshift API.

The AV content may be transmitted by streaming or VOD.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for processing a PDR service in a PDR middleware provided in an IPTV receiver and a recording medium recording a program for performing the same are provided.

According to an embodiment, a PDR service processing method of a PDR middleware may include: (a) constructing a PDR Service Guide (PSG) through metadata received by a metadata manager; (b) downloading and storing an application that provides a PDR service according to the PDR service guide; (c) generating an application corresponding to the selected PDR service of the PDR service guide as a PDR service object according to a selection by a user; And (d) running an Xlet and managing a life cycle of an application of the PDR service object by an application manager.

The application may be functionally supported by one or more of a TVAnytime API, a Java TV API, a HAVI-UI API, a playback API, a timeshift API, and a recording management API.

Other aspects, features, and advantages other than those described above will become apparent from the following drawings, claims and detailed description of the invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the PDR middleware provided in the IPTV receiver supporting IPTV data broadcasting service records and plays back IPTV broadcasting content and related data broadcasting, and provides various customized IPTV services based on metadata. can do.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all transformations, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a configuration diagram of a PDR middleware of an IPTV receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a more detailed configuration diagram of a PDR middleware supporting a PDR service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

According to the present invention, the IPTV receiver receives metadata, AV (AudioVisual) content, and application from the IPTV server to execute and manage various PDR services.

PDR service can be provided under the communication and broadcasting convergence environment that provides and consumes broadcast programs through interworking with the broadcasting networks such as terrestrial, satellite, digital cable, DMB, and heterogeneous networks such as internet, mobile communication network, portable internet, and wireless LAN. It is a data broadcasting program related service using various APIs based on metadata. By storing the bound application related to the AV content or the unbound application that is not related to the AV content, it can be executed at any time to include the user's preferences, terminal performance, network characteristics, and the natural environment (time, place, user mood, etc.). It is a customized IPTV service suitable for the usage environment.

PDR middleware configures an electronic program guide (EPG) from the received metadata. The electronic program guide plays a role of allowing a user to search for, select, and consume various broadcast programs. The PDR middleware may record an AV content related to the broadcast program by recording the broadcast program selected by the user among the broadcast programs displayed in the electronic program guide, and download and store the related application from the server. Thereafter, the AV content and the application can be played back at any time according to a playback request of the user.

As described above, a function of recording, downloading, and storing AV content and an application for a broadcast program by the PDR middleware and reproducing it is called a PDR function.

Alternatively, the PDR middleware configures a PDR Service Guide (PSG) from the received metadata. The PDR service guide plays a role of allowing a user to search for, select, and consume various PDR services. The PDR middleware may download and store an application for the selected PDR service among the PDR services displayed in the PDR service guide. Thereafter, the application can be executed at any time according to a user's request.

This PDR middleware bridges the gap between various hardware, drivers, network protocols, applications, network environments, and operating systems. In other words, it plays a role of enabling smooth communication between application programs and operating environments in heterogeneous environments.

In the present embodiment, the PDR middleware includes a PDR application programming interface (API), a PDR middleware component (MWC), a Java virtual machine (JVM), and a middleware board specific interface (BSI).

An application executed by the PDR middleware is a broadcast service, that is, a bound application, which is an application related to AV content, and is downloaded to an IPTV receiver or a television receiver without belonging to a specific service, that is, regardless of AV content. It is divided into an unbound application, which is an independent application such as a game.

For example, a bound application might be a particular TV channel (like news on a news channel or a stock subtitle application on a stock channel) or an event (such as a quiz show channel where viewers take a quiz together or a drama channel). In the form of plot information). Unbound applications include new forms of content, such as application software, games, and web pages.

The Electronic Program Guide (EPG), which can be constructed from metadata, serves as a guide for the user to make choices about various bound PDR applications. For example, it may be a table of contents provided by the IPTV server. In addition, the PDR Service Guide (PSG), which may be configured from metadata, serves as a guide for selecting a user about various unbound applications.

The PDR API is an application programming interface (API) for providing PDR services. It is a multimedia home platform (MHP) and a globally executable MHP (GEM), which is a standard for digital data broadcasting, to store contents in a communication convergence environment and provide various PDR services. ), APIs such as OCAP (Opencable Common Application Platform) are applied. PDR APIs include TVAnytime API, JavaTV API, HAVI (Home Audio / Video Interoperability) -UI API, Playback API, Timeshift API, Recording Management API , JMF (Java Multimedia Format) API, and the like.

The TV Anytime API is an API related to broadcast and application metadata and content referencing identification (CRID). Java TV API is a general function API of digital broadcasting. HAVI-UI API related to graphic user interface suitable for digital TV. The playback API is an API for providing a playback / playback service of AV content. The timeshift API is an API for simultaneously recording the currently broadcast AV content while displaying the AV content already recorded on the screen when the AV content is played. The recording management API is an API for managing recording of AV content and downloading of an application. The JMF API is an API for video and audio media control.

Middleware components (MWCs) include application managers, metadata managers, media managers, timeshift managers, and recording managers, which are components that configure PDR middleware to provide PDR services. According to an embodiment, one or more of a resource manager, a security manager, and an event manager may be further included.

The application manager executes an application and manages its life cycle.

The metadata manager controls system access to metadata, outputs metadata, and selects and manages services.

Media Manager manages media streaming / VOD, media output and recording, and supports media services for higher layer applications.

The Timeshift Manager supports playback of audio / video files, as well as backwards, forwards, stops, and pauses.

Recording Manager manages the recording of audio / video files and the downloading and storage of applications.

The resource manager manages terminal resources of the IPTV receiver, for example, a memory, a network, a hard disk, and the like. Check and manage memory capacity, network status, hard disk status or capacity so that multiple applications can be run simultaneously or all the functions of the application can be used.

The security administrator is responsible for the security mechanisms for the entire system related to the IPTV receiver, such as user authentication, authorization of media, network security, security for software upgrades, and security for service applications.

The event manager handles various events such as system events, management events, and input events that occur in the PDR middleware.

Middleware BSI is equipped with a front panel and has a native engine for recording and playback, system resources and related function functions (media, system, recording, playback, events, storage, networks, screens) to provide PDR functionality. ) Provide different parts independently depending on the board.

3 is a signal flow diagram for supporting a PDR function for IPTV broadcast content including a bound application according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a PDR function for IPTV broadcast content according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the method for doing so.

The target application in the present embodiment is a bound application including AV content and an application associated with it.

The metadata manager 10 receives metadata related to SD & S (Service Delivery & Selection) and BCG, which are IPTV standard transmission methods, and configures an electronic program guide (EPG) from the metadata. In this case, the electronic program guide corresponds to a service list, and reproduces the broadcast program selected by the user from the service list, that is, the service.

Here, the metadata is information that can provide AV content such as streaming or VOD and PDR service, and is transmitted in a push / pull protocol method.

The application manager 20 downloads and executes an application related to the broadcast program from the server. The media manager 30 reproduces the AV content transmitted to the playback / playback engine in association with the corresponding broadcast program so as to be viewed by the user on the television receiver.

When a recording request is input for the broadcast program selected from the service list, the recording manager 40 registers the broadcast program information in an existing recording list or generates a new recording list to register the broadcast program.

The recording manager 40 records the AV content transmitted in a streaming or VOD method associated with the corresponding broadcast program using the AV recording engine and stores the AV content in the PDR storage device 50. In this case, the AV content is transmitted through the RTP / UDP protocol through visual streaming and audio streaming or VOD, which are broadcast and channel services.

In addition, the recording manager 40 downloads an application related to the broadcast program from the server and stores the application in the PDR storage device 50.

The PDR storage device 50 may be implemented as a hard disk embedded in an IPTV receiver or a nonvolatile memory such as NAND FLASH, NOR FLASH, SD CARD, MMC CARD, or CF CARD.

Then, when a play request is input from the user with respect to the broadcast program registered in the recording list, the media manager 30 plays the AV content corresponding to the selected broadcast program according to the corresponding play request, and the application manager 20 selects the selected broadcast program. Correspondingly, the application stored in the PDR storage device 50 is played back, that is, the Xlet is driven and the life cycle is managed. In this case, when there is a service that was previously running, the corresponding application is terminated and the application related to the play request is driven to provide the PDR service.

Xlet is a Java application running on the IPTV receiver, the application manager 20 is to act as an Xlet manager for the Xlet. The Xlet interface is used to provide a system environment for preventing application resource conflicts, running applications reliably, and managing life cycles.

Xlet-type applications based on the Java virtual machine have four states: Loaded, Paused, Active, and Destroyed. After the application download is complete, the startup class file is loaded to create a new Xlet instance and become Loaded. After that, the application manager 20 calls the initXlet () function to initialize the Xlet and enters the Paused state, which means that the Xlet in the Paused state is ready for execution. Calling the startXlet () function acquires the resource, executes the Xlet, and changes it to the Active state. A running Xlet can call pauseXlet () to release some resources that may cause resource conflicts, change to Paused state, and call startXlet () again to acquire resources and resume execution. . The Xlet can be terminated at any time, and when it is terminated, it goes through a cleanup process that releases all resources and changes to the Destroyed state.

In addition, when a recording request is input for the broadcast program selected from the service list, the media manager 30 plays the AV content stored in the PDR storage device 50 corresponding to the selected broadcast program.

Here, the media manager 30 may also provide a time shift function when playing the AV content so that the user can watch again from the time when the broadcasting is paused after the broadcasting is paused. If the broadcast is paused for a predetermined reason during the broadcast viewing, subsequent broadcast contents are recorded, and when the playback is performed later, the recording continues and the video stored up to now is displayed on the screen. That is, playback and recording can be performed at the same time, which is called a time shift function.

Here, the metadata manager 10 is supported by the TV Anytime API, and the application manager 20 and the media manager 30 are supported by the playback API and the timeshift API. In addition, the recording manager 40 may be supported by the recording management API.

Hereinafter, a method of supporting a PDR function for a bound application in a PDR middleware will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

The PDR middleware may be provided in the IPTV receiver to support a PDR function by recording a bound application for a broadcast program selected by a user and playing the same at a time desired by the user.

The metadata manager 10 receives the metadata transmitted by the SD & S and BCG schemes, and constructs an electronic program guide (EPG) using the metadata (step S110).

A recording request is received from the user for one or more broadcast programs from the list of broadcast programs included in the electronic program guide (step S120). The recording request from the user may be made through a remote controller or through a front panel provided in the IPTV receiver.

The recording manager 40 registers the corresponding broadcast program selected from the electronic program guide in the recording list according to the recording request (step S130). The recording list may have already been generated or may be newly generated by the corresponding recording request.

In addition, the recording list may be preset or grouped by similar broadcast programs by a user, or may be configured to have a hierarchical structure of a folder concept, and may allow a user to easily check recorded broadcast programs later.

For the broadcast program registered in the recording list, the relevant AV content is recorded when the broadcast program is broadcast, and the related application is downloaded from the IPTV server and stored in the PDR storage device 50 (step S140). Here, the related application corresponds to the bound application.

After that, when a reproduction request is input by the user, AV content and an application corresponding to the selected recording list are generated as service objects (step S150). Here, the reproduction request by the user may be input through a remote controller or through a front panel provided in the IPTV receiver.

The application manager 20 runs the Xlet and manages a life cycle with respect to the created service object (step S160). The media manager 30 plays the AV content with respect to the generated service object (step S170).

Here, step S160 and step S170 may be performed at the same time.

5 is a signal flow diagram for processing a PDR service for an unbound application according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for processing a PDR service for an unbound application according to another embodiment of the present invention. to be.

The metadata manager 10 receives the transmitted metadata and constructs a PDR Service Guide (PSG) from the metadata. Here, the PDR service guide may be configured from the PDR service list including the metadata (s), and playback is performed on an application selected by the user, that is, a service, among the PDR service guides. Here, the metadata is information that can provide a PDR service and is transmitted in a push / pull protocol method.

The PDR service manager 60 downloads an application for providing the PDR service in the PDR service list from the server and stores it in the PDR storage device 50.

The application manager 20 searches for and executes an application corresponding to the service selected from the PDR service guide from the PDR storage device 50. To do this, run the Xlet and manage its life cycle.

Here, an application executed by the application manager 20 includes an EPG, a game, and the like, and includes a TVAnytime API, a JavaTV API, a HAVI-UI API, a playback API, a time shift ( Function support is provided by one or more of the Timeshift API and the Recording Management API.

Hereinafter, a PDR service processing method for an unbound PDR application in a PDR middleware will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

The PDR middleware may be provided in the IPTV receiver to download and store an unbound PDR application for providing a PDR service, and provide a PDR service by executing an application related to the PDR service selected by the user from the PDR service guide.

The metadata manager 10 receives the transmitted metadata and configures a PDR service guide (PSG) using the transmitted metadata (step S210). Information on the PDR service is included in the metadata, and the PDR service guide may be configured using the PDR service list.

The PDR service manager 60 downloads an application for providing a PDR service registered in the PDR service list from the IPTV server and stores it in the PDR storage device 50 (step S220).

A PDR service object is created for the PDR service selected from the PDR service guides by the user (step S230). The selection from the user may be made through a remote controller or through a front panel provided in the IPTV receiver.

The application manager 20 runs an Xlet on the generated PDR service object and manages a life cycle (step S240).

It is apparent that the method of supporting the PDR function and / or the method of processing the PDR service described above may be performed by an automated procedure in a time series order by a software program embedded in the IPTV receiver. The codes and code segments that make up the program can be easily deduced by a computer programmer in the field. In addition, the program is stored in a computer readable media, and read and executed by a computer to implement the method. The information storage medium includes a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, and a carrier wave medium.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be understood that the invention may be varied and varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

1 is a block diagram of a PDR middleware of an IPTV receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a more detailed configuration diagram of a PDR middleware supporting a PDR service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a signal flow diagram for supporting a PDR function for IPTV broadcast content including a bound application according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart of a method for supporting a PDR function for IPTV broadcast content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a signal flow diagram for processing a PDR service for an unbound application according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart of a method for processing a PDR service for an unbound application according to another embodiment of the present invention.

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

10: Metadata Manager 20: Application Manager

30: Media Manager 40: Recording Manager

50: PDR Storage 60: PDR Service Manager

Claims (8)

A method of supporting a PDR function in a personal digital recording (PDR) middleware provided in an IPTV receiver, (a) configuring an electronic program guide (EPG) through metadata received by the metadata manager; (b) receiving a recording request for one of the broadcast programs according to the electronic program guide; (c) the recording manager registering the broadcast program corresponding to the recording request in a recording list; (d) recording the AV content corresponding to the broadcast program and downloading and storing an application corresponding to the broadcast program; (e) generating an AV content and an application corresponding to a selected list of the recording list as a service object according to a reproduction request by the user; (f) an application manager running an Xlet for the application of the service object and managing a life cycle; And (g) a media manager playing the AV content of the service object. The method of claim 1, The step (f) and the step (g) is performed at the same time, characterized in that the PDR middleware PDR function support method. The method of claim 1, The metadata manager is supported by a TVAnytime API, the recording manager by a recording management API, and the application manager and the media manager are supported by a playback API and a timeshift API. How to support PDR function of middleware. The method of claim 1, The AV content is a method of supporting the PDR function of the PDR middleware, characterized in that the transmission (streaming) or VOD method. In order to perform the PDR function supporting method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, instructions that can be executed in the PDR middleware included in the IPTV receiver are recorded, and a program that can be read by the PDR middleware is recorded. Record carrier. A method of processing a PDR service in a personal digital recording (PDR) middleware provided in an IPTV receiver, (a) configuring a PDR Service Guide (PSG) through metadata received by the metadata manager; (b) downloading and storing an application that provides a PDR service according to the PDR service guide; (c) generating an application corresponding to the selected PDR service of the PDR service guide as a PDR service object according to a selection by a user; And (d) an application manager running an Xlet for the application of the PDR service object and managing a life cycle of the PDR middleware. The method of claim 6, The application is a PDR middleware PDR service processing method characterized in that the function is supported by at least one of TVAnytime API, Java TV API, HAVI-UI API, playback API, time-shift API, recording management API . In order to perform the PDR service processing method according to any one of claims 6 and 7, instructions that can be executed in the PDR middleware included in the IPTV receiver are recorded, and a program that can be read by the PDR middleware is recorded. Record carrier.

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