WO2012162989A1

WO2012162989A1 - Media stream transmission method, channel initialization method and equipment

Info

Publication number: WO2012162989A1
Application number: PCT/CN2011/080346
Authority: WO
Inventors: 张锦辉; 黄治平; 夏晖; 李丛娟
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2011-09-29
Filing date: 2011-09-29
Publication date: 2012-12-06
Also published as: CN103141113A; CN103141113B

Abstract

Disclosed in the present invention are a media stream transmission method, channel initialization method and equipment. The media stream transmission method comprises the following steps: a media splicer receives program media stream of a primary channel; when a terminal requests for the primary channel, the media splicer sends the program media stream to the terminal via a output channel corresponding to the terminal; the media splicer is configured with a corresponding relationship between the terminal and the output channel, which are one-to-one correspondence in the corresponding relationship; the media splicer sends an advertisement inserting notice message to an advertisement server via a TCP connection which is between the media splicer and the advertisement server and corresponding to the output channel; the media splicer is configured with a corresponding relationship between the output channel and the TCP connection, which are one-to-one correspondence in said corresponding relationship; and when receiving advertisement stream sent to the terminal from the advertisement server, the media splicer sends the advertisement stream to the terminal via the output channel corresponding to the terminal. The present invention reduces the number of the output channel which needs to be maintained and economizes the connection resource.

Description

Media stream transmission method, channel initialization method and device

The embodiments of the present invention relate to network television technologies, and in particular, to a media stream transmission method, a channel initialization method, and a device. Background technique

In the Internet Protocol Telephony (IPTV) system, after the user requests the primary channel (Primary Channel) from the media splicer, the media splicer receives the program content and the advertising period from the multicast device corresponding to the primary channel. The program media stream, and also receives an advertisement media stream that the ad server (Adverti sement Server) is directed to send to the user. The media splicer inserts the advertisement media stream into the advertisement period of the program media stream through a Digital Program Insertion (DPI) technology, and forwards the spliced media stream to the user.

In a typical IPTV advertisement insertion method, an output channel (Output Channel) of the same number as the number of users is created in advance for each Primary Channel that needs to insert an advertisement, and each Output Channel corresponds to one user. Correspondingly, a Transmit Control Protocol (TCP) connection corresponding to all Output Channels needs to be established between the advertisement server and the media splicer. When the same user requests a different Primary Channel, these Primary Channels correspond to different Output Channels. The total number of Output Channels that need to be established is the product of the number of users and the number of Primary Channels. For example, when there are M users and N Primary Channels, MXN Output Channels need to be established, and accordingly, MXN TCP connections need to be established between the advertisement server and the media splicer. The media splicer receives the program media stream on the Primary Channel, and receives the advertisement stream sent by the advertisement server through a TCP connection or other connection with the advertisement server. The media splicer sends a program media stream or an advertisement stream to the user through the Output Channel. The media splicer can insert different advertisement streams into the program media stream of the same main channel for different terminals. When the terminal switches channels, the Primary Channel is sent by the terminal. The change occurs, and accordingly, the output channel of the media stream after the terminal receives the splicing also changes. Therefore, the media splicer needs to determine an Output Channel corresponding to the terminal according to the switched Primary Channel.

In the above IPTV advertisement insertion method, the total number of pre-established TCP connections between the media splicer and the advertisement server is the product of the number of users and the number of Primary Channels, and the connection resources are consumed more. Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present invention provide a media stream transmission method, a channel initialization method, and a device, which are used to solve the defect that a normal IPTV advertisement insertion method consumes a large amount of connection resources.

The embodiment of the invention provides a media stream transmission method, including:

The media splicer receives the program media stream of the main channel;

When the terminal requests the primary channel, the media splicer sends the program media stream to the terminal through an output channel corresponding to the terminal, where the media splicer is provided with a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel, where The terminal corresponds to the output channel in the corresponding relationship;

The media splicer sends an advertisement insertion notification message to the advertisement server through a TCP connection with the output channel and the output server; the media splicer is provided with an output channel and a TCP connection. Relationship, in the foregoing correspondence, the output channel has a one-to-one correspondence with the TCP connection;

After receiving the advertisement stream sent by the advertisement server for the terminal, the media splicer sends the advertisement stream to the terminal through an output channel corresponding to the terminal.

The embodiment of the invention further provides a channel initialization method, including:

After receiving the online notification message of the terminal, the advertisement server searches for the identifier of the output channel corresponding to the terminal in the channel correspondence table. The channel correspondence table includes a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel, where the terminal and the output are in the corresponding relationship. Channel one-to-one correspondence;

The advertisement server sends a first channel initialization message including an identifier of an output channel corresponding to the terminal to the media splicer;

After receiving the initialization response of the media splicer, the advertisement server establishes a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel between the advertisement server and the media splicer. An embodiment of the present invention provides a media splicer, including:

a storage module, configured to store a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel, where the terminal corresponds to the output channel in a one-to-one correspondence; and is further configured to store a correspondence between the output channel and the TCP connection, where the output channel is in the corresponding relationship One-to-one correspondence with the TCP connection;

a program media stream transmission module, configured to receive a program media stream of the main channel; and when the terminal requests the main channel, send the program media stream to the terminal by using an output channel corresponding to the terminal;

An advertisement stream transmitting module, configured to send an advertisement insertion notification message to the advertisement server by using a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel between the media splicer and the advertisement server; receiving the advertisement server as a location After the advertisement stream sent by the terminal is described, the media splicer sends the advertisement stream to the terminal through an output channel corresponding to the terminal.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an advertisement server, including:

a search module, configured to: after receiving an online notification message of the terminal, search for an identifier of an output channel corresponding to the terminal in the channel correspondence table; the channel correspondence table includes a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel, where the correspondence relationship is The terminal has a one-to-one correspondence with the output channel;

a first initial requesting module, configured to send, to the media splicer, a first channel initialization message that includes an identifier of an output channel corresponding to the terminal;

And a connection establishing module, configured to establish, after the initialization response of the media splicer, a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel between the advertisement server and the media splicer.

The media stream transmission method, the channel initialization method and the device of the embodiment of the present invention, after receiving the channel request of the terminal, the media splicer sends the program media stream of the channel to the terminal through the output channel corresponding to the terminal, and also outputs the corresponding output of the terminal. The channel sends the advertisement stream sent by the advertisement server to the terminal to the terminal. Since the terminal and the output channel are in one-to-one correspondence, the terminal requests program media streams of different main channels, and the media splicer sends the advertisement stream and the program media stream to the terminal through the same output channel. For different terminals, the media splicer sends an advertisement insertion message to the advertisement server via a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel (the output channel bound to the terminal). Therefore, the media splicer only maintains the same number of output channels as the terminal, and the media splicer and the advertisement server only maintain the same TCP connection as the number of terminals, which significantly reduces the number of output channels that need to be maintained, saving connection resources. . The media splicer does not need to increase the output frequency when the main channel is increased. Road, the ad server also does not increase the TCP connection with the media splicer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, a brief description of the drawings to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly made. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some of the present invention. For the embodiments, those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings according to the drawings without any creative labor.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of Embodiment 1 of a media stream transmission method according to the present invention;

2 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a channel initialization method in a media stream transmission method according to the present invention;

3A is a flowchart of Embodiment 2 of a media stream transmission method according to the present invention;

3B is a diagram showing the correspondence between the Output Channel and the STB provided by the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of the media splicer provided by the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of a media splicer provided by the present invention; FIG.

6 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 3 of a media splicer provided by the present invention;

7 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 4 of a media splicer provided by the present invention;

8 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 5 of a media splicer provided by the present invention;

9 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of an advertisement server according to the present invention;

10 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 2 of an advertisement server according to the present invention;

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 3 of an advertisement server according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 4 of an advertisement server according to the present invention. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. The embodiments are a part of the embodiments of the invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without any inventive effort are within the scope of the present invention. In the following embodiments, the functions performed by the media splicer and the functions performed by each module of the media splicer may be executed by a processor of a computer or the like. Similarly, the various steps performed by the ad server and the functions performed by each module of the ad server can also be performed by a processor of a device such as a computer.

The primary channel of the embodiment of the present invention corresponds to a multicast address, and different multicast addresses correspond to different primary channels. The main channel and the output channel are both logical concepts. During the insertion process, the media splicer splices the program media stream of the main channel with different advertisement streams and sends them to different terminals, and the output channels can distinguish the programs of the same main channel. A plurality of media streams formed after the media stream is spliced with different advertisement streams. In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the channel request may be a channel request that is sent for the first time after the terminal is powered on, or may be a channel switching request sent by the terminal, that is, switching from one channel to another channel.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of Embodiment 1 of a media stream transmission method according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the media stream transmission method provided in this embodiment includes:

Step 11: The media splicer receives the program media stream of the main channel.

The program media stream includes program content of the main channel, and may also include advertisement insertion prompt information.

( cueing message ). The advertisement insertion prompt information includes information such as the insertion time point and duration of the insertion event corresponding to the advertisement prompt information.

Step 12: When the terminal requests the main channel, the media splicer sends the program media stream of the main channel to the terminal through an output channel corresponding to the terminal; the media splicer is provided with a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel, The terminal corresponds to the output channel in the corresponding relationship.

The terminal, such as a set top box (STB), sends a channel request to the media splicer carrying the identifier of the requested primary channel and the identifier of the terminal. The identifier of the primary channel may be the multicast address of the multicast channel corresponding to the primary channel, and the identifier of the terminal may be one or more of the following information: the serial number of the terminal, the IP address of the terminal, the MAC address of the terminal, and the access of the terminal. Port, etc.

The media splicer needs to forward the program media stream of the main channel to the terminal through an output channel corresponding to the terminal. In the embodiment of the present invention, the media splicer can establish a corresponding relationship with the output channel for each terminal in advance, and save the correspondence between each terminal and the output channel. In addition, the media splicer can also establish a correspondence between the terminal and an output channel after the terminal is online, and The correspondence between the terminal and the output channel is saved on the media splicer. In the above correspondence, the terminal has a one-to-one correspondence with the output channel. After receiving the program media stream on the main channel, the media splicer determines an output channel corresponding to the terminal according to the corresponding relationship between the set terminal and the output channel and the identifier of the terminal carried in the channel request, and the output channel corresponding to the terminal The program media stream of the main channel is sent to the terminal.

The media splicer can store the one-to-one correspondence between the identifier of the terminal and the identifier of the output channel in the channel configuration table as shown in Table 1. After receiving the channel request of the terminal, the identifier of the output channel corresponding to the identifier of the terminal is searched in the channel configuration table according to the identifier of the terminal in the channel request, thereby determining an output channel corresponding to the terminal.

Table 1 is a channel configuration table of the media splicer

Step 13: The media splicer sends an advertisement insertion notification message to the advertisement server through a TCP connection with the advertisement server corresponding to the output channel, and receives an advertisement flow sent by the advertisement server for the terminal.

In the initialization of the output channel phase, a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel is established by the media splicer or the advertisement server. The media splicer is provided with a correspondence between the output channel and the TCP connection, and in the above correspondence, the output channel has a one-to-one correspondence with the TCP connection.

The triggering condition for the media splicer to send the advertisement insertion notification message to the advertisement server may be that the advertisement insertion prompt information is detected, or the advertisement server, the multicast device, or another device sends an advertisement insertion notification message for triggering the media splicer to send the advertisement insertion notification message. information. If the advertisement insertion prompt information adopts an in-band transmission mode, after receiving the program media stream, the media splicer detects whether an advertisement prompt message is included in the program media stream of the main channel. The above in-band transmission method refers to a method of carrying an advertisement insertion prompt information in a program media stream. When the advertisement insertion prompt message is detected, for the terminal requesting the main channel, the media splicer outputs the output corresponding to the terminal. The TCP connection corresponding to the channel sends an advertisement insertion notification message to the advertisement server to notify the advertisement server of the advertisement insertion event. In addition, the advertisement server, multicast device, or other device may also send information to the media splicer, triggering the media splicer to send an advertisement insertion notification message to the advertisement server. After receiving the advertisement insertion notification message of the media splicer through the TCP connection, the advertisement server selects the advertisement pushed to the user according to the user preference parameters and/or the advert is ing strategy corresponding to the TCP connection. Stream, and send the ad stream to the media splicer. When the media splicer receives the advertisement flow of the advertisement server, it may receive through the TCP connection corresponding to the output channel, or may receive through other methods, for example, through a User Datagram Protocol (UDP). The media splicer and the advertisement server can negotiate through the TCP connection, and when the advertisement stream is transmitted by other means, determine a scheme of the correspondence between the transmitted advertisement stream and the terminal, so that the media splicer can determine the received advertisement stream and The corresponding relationship of the terminal, and then the advertisement flow is sent to the terminal through the corresponding output channel of the terminal.

Step 14: After receiving the advertisement stream sent by the advertisement server for the terminal, the media splicer sends the advertisement stream to the terminal through the output channel corresponding to the terminal.

After receiving the advertisement flow of the advertisement server, the media splicer may insert a splicing (Sp li ce ) operation on the advertisement stream at a point in time in the program media stream, and after splicing the advertisement stream, passing the output channel corresponding to the terminal Sending the spliced program media stream to the terminal, the program media stream including the content of the advertisement stream. The splicing operation herein may specifically be a digital program insertion splicing operation defined by the J. 286 I SMPTE 312M standard, or any other splicing operation that can insert an advertisement stream into the program media stream. . The media splicer may stop transmitting the program media stream to the terminal at the insertion time point, and may continue to send the program media stream to the terminal. When the media splicer arrives at the time of the bounce, the media splicer ends the splicing operation, stops sending the advertisement stream to the terminal, and continues to send the program media stream to the terminal. The above-mentioned bounce time point is obtained according to the insertion time point and the duration. For example, the media splicer calculates the sum of the insertion time point and the duration in the advertisement insertion prompt information as the bounce time point.

The advertisement server is provided with a user preference parameter related to the terminal. After receiving the advertisement insertion notification message of the media splicer through the TCP connection, the advertisement server determines the terminal corresponding to the output channel of the TCP connection, according to the user preference parameter of the terminal and Ad serving strategy selection The stream of ads pushed to the user, and the stream of ads is sent to the media splicer.

In the media stream transmission method of the embodiment of the present invention, after receiving the channel request of the terminal, the media splicer sends the program media stream of the channel to the terminal through the output channel corresponding to the terminal, and also uses the output channel corresponding to the terminal to set the advertisement server as the terminal. The sent ad stream is sent to the terminal. Since the terminal corresponds to the output channel one by one, the terminal requests program media streams of different main channels, and the media splicer sends the advertisement stream and the program media stream to the terminal through the same output channel. For different terminals, the media splicer sends an advertisement insertion message to the advertisement server through a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel bound to the terminal. Therefore, the media splicer only maintains the same output channel as the number of terminals, and the media splicer and the advertisement server only maintain the same TCP connection as the number of terminals, which significantly reduces the number of output channels that need to be maintained, saving connection resources. . When the main channel is added, the media splicer does not need to increase the output channel, and the ad server does not increase the TCP connection with the media splicer.

2 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a channel initialization method in a media stream transmission method provided by the present invention. This embodiment mainly describes the initialization process of the output channel. As shown in FIG. 2, the channel initialization method provided in this embodiment includes:

Step 21: After receiving the online notification message of the terminal, the advertisement server searches for the identifier of the output channel corresponding to the terminal in the channel correspondence table. The channel correspondence table includes the correspondence between the terminal and the output channel, where the terminal and the output channel are in the corresponding relationship. One-to-one correspondence.

In the terminal authentication process, the authentication server notifies the advertisement server of the location of the terminal. The advertisement server may send the first channel initialization message to the media splicer after the terminal is online, for example, after receiving the online notification message including the terminal identifier sent by the terminal or the online notification message including the terminal identifier sent by the uplink and downlink monitoring device of the terminal. The first channel initialization message includes an identifier of an Output Channel corresponding to the terminal. The first channel initialization message is used to request the media splicer to initialize the corresponding Output Channel of the terminal. The identifier of the terminal may be a serial number of the terminal, an IP address of the terminal, a MAC address of the terminal, or a physical line number of the terminal.

The advertisement server is provided with a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel, and one terminal corresponds to one output channel one by one in the above correspondence. The advertisement server may store the correspondence between the identifier of the Output Channel 1 and the identifier of the terminal in the channel correspondence table as shown in Table 2. As shown in table 2, The channel correspondence table stores the correspondence between the identifier of the Output Channel and the identifier of the terminal. After receiving the online notification message sent by the uplink or downlink monitoring device of the terminal or the terminal, the advertisement server searches the channel correspondence table according to the identifier of the terminal, and obtains an Output Channel corresponding to the terminal, and sends the output channel including the Output Channel to the media splicer. The identified first channel initialization message.

Table 2 is the channel correspondence table of the advertisement server.

Step 22: The advertisement server sends a first channel initialization message to the media splicer, where the first channel initialization message includes an identifier of the Output Channel.

The media splicer initializes the Output Channel according to a first channel initialization message including an identifier of the Output Channel. As shown in Table 3, on the basis of Table 1, the channel configurator of the media splicer may further include an initialization parameter of the Output Channel. The initialization parameter can be a default primary channe output protocols Output IP or Output port corresponding to the Output Channel. The output protocol refers to the protocol used by the output media stream. The Output IP refers to the IP address used by the output media stream. The Output port refers to the port used by the output media stream. The default primary channel refers to the terminal channel request. The program that is output to the output channel.

Table 3 is another channel configuration table in the media splicer

After receiving the first channel initialization message of the advertisement server, the media splicer looks up the initialization parameter of the Output Channel in the channel configuration table according to the identifier of the Output Channel included in the first channel initialization message. Initializing the Output Channel according to the initialization parameter includes: establishing a media stream channel for sending a media stream to the terminal between the media interface and the terminal, and allocating resources for the Output Channel, and the initialization parameter may be a default primary channel, and the output protocol outputs the media. Protocols, IP addresses, ports, etc. used by the stream. When the media splicer initializes the Output Channel, it can interact with the terminal or not with the terminal. If the media splicer multicasts the program media stream and initializes the Output Channel, it does not need to interact with the terminal. The resources allocated for the Output Channel can be bandwidth and the like.

Step 23: After receiving the initialization response of the media splicer, the advertisement server establishes a TCP connection corresponding to the Output Channel between the advertisement server and the media splicer.

After the advertisement server receives the initialization response of the media splicer, the advertisement server establishes a corresponding TCP connection between the advertisement server and the media splicer for the corresponding Output Channel of the terminal; or, the media splicer can be used in the advertisement server and the media splicer. A corresponding TCP connection is established between the corresponding Output Channels of the terminal. When the TCP connection is established, the advertisement server notifies the media splicer to store the correspondence between the output channel and the TCP connection on the Output Channel media splicer corresponding to the TCP connection through the TCP connection, and the output channel and the TCP connection are in one-to-one correspondence in the corresponding relationship. .

In the above method, the advertisement server sends a channel initialization message to the media splicer after the terminal is online. In this case, the media splicer can only allocate resources for the Output Channel of the online terminal, and the advertisement server can only maintain the TCP connection corresponding to the Output Channel of the online terminal. When the terminal goes offline, the advertisement server receives the offline notification message of the terminal. The advertisement server then sends a channel teardown message to the media splicer through the TCP connection corresponding to the Output Channel of the terminal. The media splicer removes the message according to the root channel and releases the resources of the Output Channel corresponding to the TCP connection. In addition, after releasing the resources of the Output Channel corresponding to the TCP connection, the media splicer may remove the TCP connection, or may not remove the TCP. Connection, the TCP server allocates the TCP connection to other online terminals, that is, the advertisement server changes the correspondence between the TCP connection and the corresponding output channel of the terminal, and the advertisement server also notifies the media splicer to change the TCP connection and the terminal corresponding output. The correspondence between channels. Therefore, the media splicer and the ad server only need to maintain the same number of TCP connections as the number of online terminals.

The advertisement server sends a first channel initialization message to the media splicer for each Output Channel, and each of the first channel initialization messages includes an identifier of the Output Channel. In addition, the advertisement server may also send a second channel initialization message to the media splicer after completing its own initialization. The second channel initialization message does not include the identifier of the Output Channel, and is used to trigger the media splicer to initialize all the Output Channels. The media splicer initializes each Output Channel in the channel configuration table according to the configuration information of each Output Channel in the channel configuration table under the trigger of the second channel initialization message, and allocates transmission resources for each Output Channel. After receiving the initialization response of the media splicer, the advertisement server establishes a corresponding TCP connection between the advertisement server and the media splicer for the Output Channel.

The media splicer can dynamically allocate an Output Channel to the terminal when the terminal is online. The specific process is as follows: After receiving the online notification message of the terminal, the advertisement server sends a third channel initialization message to the media splicer, where the third channel initialization message includes the identifier of the terminal. . After receiving the third channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, the media splicer allocates an Output Channel to the terminal, and saves the correspondence between the terminal and the Output Channel. After that, the media splicer initializes the output channel according to the initialization parameter of the Output Channel, and after receiving the initialization response of the media splicer, the media server establishes a corresponding TCP connection between the advertisement server and the media splicer.

In addition, the media splicer can also obtain the identifier of the Output Channel corresponding to the terminal from a third-party device other than the advertisement server when the terminal is online. In this case, the third-party device has a one-to-one correspondence between the terminal and the Output Channel. relationship. The third party device other than the advertisement server may be a configuration device or a network management device. After receiving the online notification message of the terminal, the advertisement server sends a third channel initialization message to the media splicer, where the third channel initialization message includes the identifier of the terminal. After receiving the third channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, the media splicer acquires an identifier of the output channel corresponding to the identifier of the terminal from the third party device, according to the identifier Output the identifier of the channel, find the initialization parameter of the output channel, and save the terminal and the

The correspondence of the Output Channel. After that, the media splicer initializes the Output Channel according to the initialization parameter of the Output Channel. After receiving the initialization response of the media splicer, the advertisement server establishes a corresponding TCP connection between the advertisement server and the media splicer for the Output Channel.

FIG. 3A is a flowchart of Embodiment 2 of a media stream transmission method according to the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a corresponding relationship diagram between an Output Channel and an STB. In this embodiment, the media splicer transmits the program media stream requested by the STB1 to the STB1 during the process of the STB1 from the uplink to the offline, and sends the advertisement flow sent by the advertisement server to the STB1 according to the advertisement insertion prompt information in the program media stream. method.

As shown in Fig. 3B, the online set top box includes STB1, STB2, and STB3. The Output Channel corresponding to STB1 is Output Channel l, and the TCP connection corresponding to Output Channel l between the advertisement server and the media splicer is TCP1; the Output Channel corresponding to STB2 is Output Channel2, and between the advertisement server and the media splicer The TCP connection corresponding to Output Channel2 is TCP2; the Output Channel corresponding to STB3 is Output Channel3, and the TCP connection corresponding to Output Channel3 between the advertisement server and the media splicer is TCP3.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the current STB1 requests Primary Channel 1, and the Output Channel l corresponds to Primary Channel l. The current STB2 requests Primary Channel2, and Output Channel 2 corresponds to Primary Channel2. The current STB3 request is Primary Channel3, and Output Channel3 corresponds to Primary Channel3.

If STB1 requests Primary Channel2, it corresponds to Primary Channel 1 ^ Primary Channel 2; if STB1 requests Primary Channel3, Bayer lj Output Channel l corresponds to Primary Channel3. If STB2 requests Primary Channel l, Bay lj Output Ch诵el2 corresponds to Primary Ch诵el l; if STB2 requests Primary Channel3, Shell lj Output Channel2 corresponds to Primary Channel3. If STB3 if is seeking Primary Channel2, Baye lj Output Channel3 corresponds to Primary Channel2; if STB3 requests Primary Channel 1, Baye lj Output Channel3 corresponds to Primary Channel l. As shown in FIG. 3A, this embodiment includes:

Step 31: After the STB1 goes online, the online notification message is sent to the advertisement server, and the online notification message includes the identifier of the STB1.

Step 32: The advertisement server sends a first channel initialization message to the media splicer, and the channel initialization message includes an identifier of the Output Channel 1 corresponding to the STB1.

Step 33: The media splicer initializes Output Channel 1 according to the first channel initialization message.

Step 34: The advertisement server establishes a TCP connection corresponding to the Output Channel l between the advertisement server and the media splicer: TCP1.

Step 35A: The media splicer receives the program media stream of the Primary Channel 1 sent by the program source device 1 . The source device corresponding to Primary Channel 1 is the program source device 1.

Step 35B: The media splicer receives the program media stream of the Primary Channel2 sent by the program source device 2. The program source device corresponding to Primary Channel 2 is the program source device 2.

Step 36A: The media splicer detects whether there is an advertisement insertion prompt information in the program media stream of the Primary Channel l.

Step 36B: The media splicer detects whether there is an advertisement insertion prompt information in the program media stream of the primary channel 2.

Step 37: STB1 sends a channel request to the media splicer, requesting to switch to Primary Channel 1. The channel request includes the identity of the STB1 and the identity of the requested Primary Channel l.

Step 38: The media splicer sends the program media stream of the Primary Channel 1 to the STB1 through the Output Channel corresponding to the STB1.

Step 39: When detecting the advertisement insertion prompt information of the program media stream, the media splicer sends an advertisement insertion notification message to the advertisement server via TCP1.

Step 310: The media splicer receives the advertisement stream sent by the advertisement server for the STB1.

The media splicer can receive the advertisement flow sent by the advertisement server for the STB1 through the TCP connection corresponding to the Output Channel l or through other connections between the advertisement server and the media splicer, such as a UDP connection.

Step 311: When the insertion time point arrives in the advertisement insertion prompt information, the media splicer sends the advertisement flow to the STB1 through the Output Channel l corresponding to the STB1. When the media splicer sends an advertisement stream to the STB1 when the insertion time point arrives, the program media stream may be stopped from being transmitted to the terminal, and the program media stream may continue to be transmitted to the terminal.

Step 312: When the time point of the jump in the advertisement insertion prompt message arrives, the media splicer sends the program media stream of the Primary Channel 1 to the STB1 through the Output Channel 1 corresponding to the STB1.

The media splicer calculates the sum of the insertion time point and the duration in the advertisement insertion prompt information to obtain the bounce time point. When the bounce time point arrives, the media splicer stops sending the advertisement flow to the terminal, and continues to send the program media stream to the terminal.

Step 313: STB1 sends a channel request to the media splicer, requesting to switch to Primary Ch诵 el2.

Step 314: The media splicer sends the program media stream of the Primary Channel2 to the STB1 through the Output Channel corresponding to the STB1.

Step 315: When detecting the advertisement insertion prompt information of the program media stream, the media splicer sends an advertisement insertion notification message to the advertisement server via TCP1.

Step 316: The media splicer receives the advertisement stream sent by the advertisement server for the STB1.

Step 317: When the insertion time point arrives in the advertisement insertion prompt message, the media splicer sends the advertisement flow to the STB1 through the Output Channel l corresponding to the STB1.

Step 318: When the time point of the jump is reached in the advertisement insertion prompt message, the program media stream of the Primary Channel 2 is sent to the STB1 through the Output Channel 1 corresponding to the STB1.

Step 319: When the STB1 goes offline, it sends an offline notification message to the advertisement server, and the offline notification message includes the identifier of the STB1.

Step 320: The advertisement server sends a channel teardown message to the media splicer through TCP1. Step 321: The media splicer releases the resources of the Output Channel 1 corresponding to the TCP1 according to the channel teardown message.

In addition, the media splicer may not remove the TCP connection, and the advertisement server allocates the TCP connection to other online terminals.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of a media splicer provided by the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the media splicer provided in this embodiment includes: a storage module 41, and a program media stream transmission module 42. And an advertisement streaming module 43.

The storage module 41 is configured to store a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel, where the terminal has a one-to-one correspondence with the output channel, and is further configured to store a correspondence between the output channel and the TCP connection, where the output is in the corresponding relationship. The channel has a one-to-one correspondence with the TCP connection.

The media splicer can establish a corresponding relationship with the output channel for each terminal in advance, and save the correspondence between each terminal and the output channel. In addition, the media splicer can dynamically establish a correspondence between the terminal and an output channel after the terminal is online, and save the correspondence between the terminal and the output channel on the media splicer. In the above correspondence, the terminal and the output channel are in one pair.

The program media stream transmission module 42 is configured to receive a program media stream of the main channel; and when the terminal requests the main channel, send the program media stream to the terminal by using an output channel corresponding to the terminal.

The channel request sent by the terminal to the media splicer carries the identifier of the requested primary channel and the identifier of the terminal. The identifier of the primary channel may be the multicast address of the multicast channel corresponding to the primary channel, and the identifier of the terminal may be one or more of the following information: the serial number of the terminal, the IP address of the terminal, the MAC address of the terminal, and the access of the terminal. Port, etc. After receiving the program media stream on the main channel, the media splicer determines an output channel corresponding to the terminal according to the corresponding relationship between the set terminal and the output channel and the identifier of the terminal carried in the terminal channel request, and the output corresponding to the terminal is output. The channel transmits the program media stream of the main channel to the terminal.

The advertisement stream transmission module 43 is configured to send an advertisement insertion notification message to the advertisement server by using a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel between the media splicer and the advertisement server; and receiving the advertisement server as After the advertisement stream sent by the terminal, the media splicer sends the advertisement stream to the terminal through an output channel corresponding to the terminal.

After receiving the program media stream, the media splicer detects whether an advertisement message message is included in the program media stream of the main channel. When the advertisement insertion prompt message is detected, the advertisement insertion notification message is sent to the advertisement server through the TCP connection corresponding to the output channel corresponding to the terminal, to notify the advertisement server of the advertisement insertion event. In addition, the advertisement server, multicast device, or other device may also send information to the media splicer, triggering the media splicer to send an advertisement insertion notification message to the advertisement server. After the advertisement server receives the advertisement insertion notification message of the media splicer through the TCP connection, The advertisement stream pushed to the user is selected according to the user preference parameter and/or the advertisement delivery policy corresponding to the TCP connection, and the advertisement stream is sent to the media splicer.

For the functions of the foregoing modules, reference may be made to the corresponding embodiments in FIG. 1 , and details are not described herein again. As shown in FIG. 5, on the basis of FIG. 4, the media splicer provided in this embodiment may further include: a first initialization module 44.

The storage module 41 is further configured to save initialization parameters of each output channel.

The first initialization module 44 is configured to receive a first channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, and search for an initialization parameter of the output channel according to the identifier of the output channel stored by the storage module 41, according to the initialization of the output channel. a parameter, after initializing the output channel, sending an initialization response to the advertisement server; the first channel initialization message includes an identifier of an output channel, where the first channel initialization message is used to request an identifier corresponding to the output channel The output channel is initialized. After receiving the online notification message sent by the uplink or downlink monitoring device of the terminal or the terminal, the advertisement server searches the channel correspondence table according to the identifier of the terminal, obtains an Output Channel corresponding to the terminal, and sends the output channel including the Output Channel to the media splicer. The identified first channel initialization message.

As shown in FIG. 6, the media splicer provided in this embodiment may further include: a second initialization module 45.

The second initialization module 45 is configured to receive a second channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, and after initializing each output channel in the channel configuration table according to initialization parameters of each output channel stored by the storage module 41, The ad server sends an initialization response; a second channel initialization message is used to request initialization of all output channels.

The advertisement server may also send a second channel initialization message to the media splicer after completing the initialization, and the second channel initialization message does not include the identifier of the Output Channel, and is used to trigger the media splicer to initialize all the Output Channels. The media splicer initializes each of the Output Channels in the channel configuration table according to the configuration information of each Output Channel in the channel configuration table under the trigger of the second channel initialization message, and allocates transmission resources for each Output Channel. After receiving the initialization response of the media splicer, the advertisement server establishes a corresponding TCP connection between the advertisement server and the media splicer for the Output Channel. As shown in FIG. 7, the media splicer provided in this embodiment may further include: a third initialization module 46.

The third initialization module 46 is configured to receive a third channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, allocate a corresponding output channel to the terminal, and save a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel in the storage module 41. Searching for an initialization parameter of the output channel, and initializing the output channel according to the initialization parameter of the output channel stored by the storage module 41, and sending an initialization response to the advertisement server; the third channel initialization message includes an identifier of the terminal.

After receiving the online notification message of the terminal, the advertisement server sends a third channel initialization message to the media splicer, where the third channel initialization message includes the identifier of the terminal. After receiving the third channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, the media splicer allocates an Output Channel to the terminal, and saves the correspondence between the terminal and the Output Channel. After that, the media splicer initializes the output channel according to the initialization parameter of the Output Channel, and after receiving the initialization response of the media splicer, the media server establishes a corresponding TCP connection between the advertisement server and the media splicer.

As shown in FIG. 8, the media splicer provided in this embodiment may further include: a fourth initialization module 47.

The fourth initialization module 47 is configured to receive a third channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, and obtain an identifier of an output channel corresponding to the identifier of the terminal from a third-party device other than the advertisement server, and in the storage module 41 And storing the corresponding relationship between the terminal and the output channel, searching for an initialization parameter of the output channel, initializing the output channel according to an initialization parameter of the output channel saved by the storage module 41, and sending an initialization to the advertisement server. The third channel initialization message includes an identifier of the terminal.

After receiving the online notification message of the terminal, the advertisement server sends a third channel initialization message to the media splicer, where the third channel initialization message includes the identifier of the terminal. After receiving the third channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, the media splicer obtains an identifier of the output channel corresponding to the identifier of the terminal from the third-party device, and searches for an initialization parameter of the output channel according to the identifier of the output channel, and Save the correspondence between the terminal and the Output Channel. after that, The media splicer initializes the Output Channel according to the initialization parameters of the Output Channel. After receiving the initialization response of the media splicer, the advertisement server establishes a corresponding TCP connection between the advertisement server and the media splicer for the Output Channel.

The functions implemented by the foregoing initialization modules can be described in the corresponding embodiment of FIG. 2, and details are not described herein again.

After receiving the channel request of the terminal, the media splicer provided by the embodiment sends the program media stream of the channel to the terminal through the output channel corresponding to the terminal, and also sends the advertisement stream sent by the advertisement server to the terminal through the output channel corresponding to the terminal. Send to the terminal. Since the terminal corresponds to the output channel one by one, the terminal requests program media streams of different main channels, and the media splicer sends the advertisement stream and the program media stream to the terminal through the same output channel. For different terminals, the media splicer sends an advertisement insertion message to the advertisement server via a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel (the output channel bound to the terminal). Therefore, the media splicer only maintains the same number of output channels as the number of terminals, and the media splicer and the advertisement server only maintain the same TCP connection as the number of terminals, which significantly reduces the number of output channels that need to be maintained, saving connection resources. . When the main channel is added, the media splicer does not need to increase the output channel, and the ad server does not increase the TCP connection with the media splicer.

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of an advertisement server according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the advertisement server provided in this embodiment includes: a lookup module 91, a first initial request module 92, and a connection establishment module 93.

The searching module 91 is configured to: after receiving the online notification message of the terminal, search for an identifier of the output channel corresponding to the terminal in the channel correspondence table; the channel correspondence table includes a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel, where the corresponding relationship is The middle terminal has a one-to-one correspondence with the output channel.

The first initial request module 92 is configured to send, to the media splicer, a first channel initialization message including an identifier of the output channel corresponding to the terminal.

The search module 91 may search for the terminal in the channel correspondence table after the terminal is online, for example, after receiving the online notification message including the terminal identifier sent by the terminal or the online notification message including the terminal identifier sent by the uplink and downlink monitoring device of the terminal. The identifier of the corresponding output channel. After the searching module 91 finds the identifier of the output channel corresponding to the terminal, the first initial requesting module 92 sends a first channel initialization message to the media splicer, where the first channel initialization message includes The terminal - the identifier of the corresponding Output Channel. The first channel initialization message is used to request the media splicer to initialize the corresponding Output Channel with the terminal. The identifier of the terminal may be a serial number of the terminal, an IP address of the terminal, a MAC address of the terminal, or a physical line number of the terminal.

The connection establishing module 93 is configured to establish, after the initialization response of the media splicer, a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel between the advertisement server and the media splicer.

As shown in FIG. 10, the advertisement server shown in FIG. 9 may further include: a channel removal module 94, configured to receive, by the terminal, a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel after receiving the offline notification message of the terminal Sending a channel teardown message to the media splicer.

After releasing the resource of the Output Channel corresponding to the TCP connection, the media splicer may remove the TCP connection, or may not remove the TCP connection, and the advertisement server allocates the TCP connection to other online terminals, that is, the advertisement server changes the The correspondence between the TCP connection and the terminal corresponding to the output channel, and the advertisement server also notifies the media splicer to change the correspondence between the TCP connection and the corresponding output channel of the terminal. Therefore, the media splicer and the ad server only need to maintain the same number of TCP connections as the number of online terminals.

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 3 of an advertisement server according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the advertisement server provided in this embodiment includes: a third initial request module 111 and a connection establishment module 112.

The third initial requesting module 111 is configured to: after the advertisement server receives the online notification message of the terminal, send a third channel initialization message to the media splicer, where the third channel initialization message includes an identifier of the terminal;

After receiving the online notification message of the terminal, the advertisement server sends a third channel initialization message to the media splicer, where the third channel initialization message includes the identifier of the terminal. After receiving the third channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, the media splicer allocates an Output Channel to the terminal, and saves the correspondence between the terminal and the Output Channel; or, the media splicer acquires the terminal from the third party device. The identifier of the output channel corresponding to the identifier. The media splicer initializes the Output Channel according to the initialization parameters of the Output Channel. After the ad server receives the initialization response of the media splicer, the ad server and the media splicer A corresponding TCP connection is established between the Output Channels.

The connection establishing module 112 is configured to establish, after the initialization response of the media splicer, a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel between the advertisement server and the media splicer.

When the TCP connection is established, the advertisement server notifies the media splicer to save the corresponding relationship between the output channel and the TCP connection on the Output Channel media splicer corresponding to the TCP connection through the TCP connection, and outputs the channel and the TCP connection in the corresponding relationship. .

As shown in FIG. 12, the advertisement server shown in FIG. 11 may further include: a channel removal module 113, configured to receive, by the terminal, a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel after receiving the offline notification message of the terminal. Sending a channel teardown message to the media splicer.

A person skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above method embodiments may be implemented by hardware related to program instructions, and the foregoing program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, when executed, The steps of the foregoing method embodiments are performed; and the foregoing storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, disk or optical disk.

It should be noted that the above embodiments are only for explaining the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to be limiting; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that: The technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments are modified, or some of the technical features are equivalently replaced; and the modifications or substitutions do not deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

Claim

A media stream transmission method, comprising:

The media splicer receives the program media stream of the main channel;

The method according to claim 1, wherein before the media splicer receives the program media stream of the main channel, the method further includes:

The media splicer receives a first channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, where the first channel initialization message includes an identifier of an output channel, where the first channel initialization message is used to request an identifier corresponding to the output channel. Output channel is initialized;

The media splicer searches for an initialization parameter of the output channel according to the identifier of the output channel; and the initialization parameter of each output channel is set on the media splicer;

The media splicer sends an initialization response to the advertisement server after initializing the output channel according to the initialization parameter of the output channel.

The media splicer receives a second channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, for requesting initialization of all output channels;

The media splicer respectively initializes each output channel in the channel configuration table according to the initialization parameters of each output channel, and then sends an initialization response to the advertisement server; the media splicer is provided with initialization parameters of each output channel.

The media splicer receives a third channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, where the third channel initialization message includes an identifier of the terminal;

The media splicer allocates a corresponding output channel to the terminal, and saves a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel;

The media splicer searches for an initialization parameter of the output channel, and after initializing the output channel according to the initialization parameter of the output channel, sends an initialization response to the advertisement server; the media splicer is provided with each output channel. Initialization parameters.

The media splicer acquires an identifier of an output channel corresponding to the identifier of the terminal from a third-party device other than the advertisement server, and saves the corresponding connection of the terminal and the output channel to the media splicer to find the An initialization parameter of the output channel, after initializing the output channel according to the initialization parameter of the output channel, sending an initialization response to the advertisement server; and setting, by the media splicer, an initialization parameter of each output channel.

6. A channel initialization method, comprising:

The advertisement server sends a first channel initialization message including an identifier of an output channel corresponding to the terminal to the media splicer.

After receiving the initialization response of the media splicer, the advertisement server establishes a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel between the advertisement server and the media splicer.

The method according to claim 6, wherein after the establishment of the TCP connection corresponding to the output channel between the advertisement server and the media splicer, the method further includes: After receiving the offline notification message of the terminal, the advertisement server sends a channel teardown message to the media splicer through the TCP connection corresponding to the output channel of the terminal.

8. A media splicer, comprising:

The media splicer according to claim 8, further comprising: a first initialization module, configured to receive a first channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, and find a location according to the identifier of the output channel An initialization parameter of the output channel, after initializing the output channel according to the initialization parameter of the output channel, sending an initialization response to the advertisement server; the first channel initialization message includes an identifier of an output channel, the first channel The initialization message is used to request to initialize an output channel corresponding to the identifier of the output channel;

The storage module is further configured to store initialization parameters of each output channel.

The media splicer according to claim 8, further comprising: a second initialization module, configured to receive a second channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, and respectively initialize according to initialization parameters of each output channel After each output channel in the channel configuration table, sending an initialization response to the advertisement server; the second channel initialization message is used to request initialization of all output channels;

The media splicer according to claim 8, further comprising: a third initialization module, configured to receive a third channel initialization cancellation sent by the advertisement server And assigning a corresponding output channel to the terminal, and storing a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel, searching for an initialization parameter of the output channel, and initializing the output channel according to an initialization parameter of the output channel, Sending an initialization response to the advertisement server; the third channel initialization message includes an identifier of the terminal;

The media splicer according to claim 8, further comprising: a fourth initialization module, configured to receive a third channel initialization message sent by the advertisement server, from a third party device other than the advertisement server Obtaining an identifier of an output channel corresponding to the identifier of the terminal, and storing a correspondence between the terminal and the output channel, searching an initialization parameter of the output channel, and initializing the output channel according to an initialization parameter of the output channel And sending an initialization response to the advertisement server; the third channel initialization message includes an identifier of the terminal;

13. An advertisement server, comprising:

a connection establishing module, configured to establish, after the initialization response of the media splicer, a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel between the advertisement server and the media splicer.

The advertisement server according to claim 13, further comprising: a channel removal module, configured to receive, by the terminal, a TCP connection corresponding to the output channel after receiving the offline notification message of the terminal, A channel teardown message is sent to the media splicer.