FR3067542A1 - METHOD FOR MANAGING TRANSMISSION OF MULTIMEDIA CONTENT AND EQUIPMENT FOR IMPLEMENTING THE METHOD - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of managing the transmission of multimedia content is proposed in a multimedia gateway. The method comprises: determining that a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode can be established with a user equipment, the user equipment belonging to an equipment group controlled by the multimedia gateway, the group comprising at least the multimedia gateway and the user equipment; upon determining that a point-to-point wireless communication connection can be established with a user equipment of the group, establishing the wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode with the user equipment, and establishing a wireless communication session by point-to-point mode using the connection; receiving, from the at least one user equipment, a streaming data stream transmission request message, the transmission using the communication session; receiving, from the user equipment, a data stream carrying the multimedia content.

Description

METHOD FOR MANAGING THE TRANSMISSION OF MULTIMEDIA CONTENT AND

EQUIPMENT FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROCESS

The present invention relates to a method for managing the transmission of multimedia or audio-visual content, in particular for the wireless transmission of multimedia content in point-to-point mode, and to a device for implementing this. process.

Miracast® technology, developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance organization, allows the transmission over a point-to-point wireless link of data streams carrying multimedia content from a sending device, called a “source device” (for example a user equipment, such as a smartphone or a tablet), to a receiving device, known as a “well device” (for example a multimedia gateway connected to a playback device (for example a television set, or a compatible television set)). In particular, a Miracast® compatible smartphone user can for example use a Miracast® link to view their photos or videos on the screen of a compatible television. By multimedia content is meant any type of digital multimedia content, such as video or audio-visual content, such as for example videos or films.

The AndroidTM operating system integrates via an application programming interface (API) a presentation functionality on a secondary screen compatible with Miracast® technology since version 4.2 (Jelly_Bean_MR1). This allows Miracast® technology to be used with user equipment equipped with a wireless communication module compatible with the high-speed Wi-Fi standard IEEE 802.11n and operating with version 4.2 or a later version of the system. AndroidTM operation.

Establishing a Miracast® connection from such user equipment is however inconvenient because it requires going to the configuration / adjustment menu of the user equipment in order to activate the Miracast® function. The Miracast® function is therefore difficult to use for users who are reticent to the complexity of equipment such as smartphones or tablets.

In addition, the configuration / adjustment menu can be made, by configuration of the user equipment or of a user account, inaccessible to users with limited permissions on the user equipment. This is the case, for example, of tablets used in school, which pupils may be required to use while having limited access permissions, in particular without having access to the configuration / adjustment menu of the tablet which they use. It is then impossible for them to activate the Miracast® function on their tablet alone, for example to project its screen on a Miracast® receiver device such as a large Miracast® compatible screen. It may therefore be difficult, if not impossible, for users with restricted access rights not including access or restricting access to a menu from which the Miracast® function can be activated, to use this function .

There is thus a need for a method for managing the transmission of improved multimedia content which does not have the drawbacks set out above.

There is also a need for an improved method of managing a point-to-point wireless communication link for the transmission of multimedia content.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for managing the transmission of improved multimedia content.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for managing a point-to-point type wireless communication link for the transmission of multimedia content.

According to a first aspect, a method for managing the transmission of multimedia content is proposed, the method comprising, in a multimedia gateway configured to deliver to a playback device data transporting multimedia content: determining that a communication connection wireless in point-to-point mode can be established with user equipment, the user equipment belonging to a group of equipment controlled by the multimedia gateway, the group comprising at least the multimedia gateway and the user equipment; upon determination that a point-to-point wireless communication connection can be established with the group user equipment, establishing the point-to-point wireless communication connection with the user equipment, and establishing a communication session using the connection; receive, from the user equipment, a message requesting the transmission of streaming data streams, the transmission using the communication session; receive, from the user equipment, a data stream carrying the multimedia content.

The proposed method has the advantage of being able to be implemented within a multimedia gateway by minimizing, or even completely eliminating, user interventions, by means of an appropriate configuration of the multimedia gateway.

The equipment group may, in one or more embodiments, have been created by the multimedia gateway, the proposed method then further comprising, before determining that a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode can be established with the user equipment, a creation of the group which includes a group control negotiation phase comprising: transmitting to the user equipment a group control request message, receiving a response message from the user equipment group control abort, transmit to the user equipment a group formation confirmation message.

As part of a system comprising a multimedia gateway and a set of user equipment configured to transmit multimedia or audio-visual content to the gateway, it may be advantageous to configure the multimedia gateway to create a group of which it takes control (for example by taking the role of group owner), and applying the same configuration to each of the group's user devices.

In one or more embodiments, the determination that the wireless communication session in point-to-point mode can be established with the user equipment of the group can include: receiving, from the user equipment, a request to invite to establish a point-to-point wireless communication connection between the user equipment and the multimedia gateway; verify that the invitation request is received from a group device; in the event that the invitation request is received from a group device, transmit to the user equipment, in response to the invitation request, an invitation to establish the wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode.

To do this, the multimedia gateway can advantageously be configured to store in memory an identifier of the user equipment in association with the group, the request comprising in this embodiment a first identifier of the user equipment, and the verification that the invitation request is received from equipment of the group then comprising: verifying that the first identifier corresponds to the identifier of the user equipment associated with the group, the method comprising: in the case where the first identifier corresponds to the identifier from the user equipment, transmitting to the user equipment, in response to the invitation request, the invitation to establish the wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode.

According to a second aspect, a method for managing the transmission of multimedia content to a multimedia gateway is proposed, the method comprising, in user equipment belonging to a group of equipment controlled by the multimedia gateway, the group comprising at least the multimedia gateway and the user equipment: establishing a point-to-point wireless communication connection with the multimedia gateway as a member of the group controlled by the multimedia gateway; establish with the multimedia gateway a communication session using the connection; on receipt of a user command, transmit to the multimedia gateway, using the wireless communication session in point-to-point mode established with the multimedia gateway, a request message for transmitting streaming data streams; transmitting to the multimedia gateway, using the wireless communication session in point-to-point mode established with the multimedia gateway, a data stream transporting the multimedia content.

This proposed method has the advantage of being able to be implemented within user equipment by minimizing, or even completely eliminating, user interventions for the establishment of a point-to-point wireless communication session. point, through appropriate configuration of user equipment. The user equipment can indeed be preconfigured to establish a wireless communication session in point-to-point mode with the multimedia gateway, for example during the execution of an application capable of using the communication session, and this without user intervention. This makes it possible to respond to the problem set out above which is encountered with user equipment (smartphones, tablets) operating on AndroidTM, the user according to the invention no longer having to access a configuration menu to activate the Miracast® function. for example, as soon as its equipment is preconfigured to activate the Wi-Fi function and then automatically establish the communication session with the multimedia gateway. The user interface can then be reduced to a command to activate the Miracast® transmission, for example in the form of a button on a graphic interface or in the form of a voice command received by an audio interface, the interfaces being in each case controlled by an API executed on the user equipment.

In particular, the user equipment can be configured to negotiate with the multimedia gateway the creation of a group of equipment controlled by the multimedia gateway, the group comprising the multimedia gateway and the user equipment.

In one or more embodiments, the establishment of the communication connection may comprise: transmitting to the multimedia gateway a request for invitation to establish a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode, the request comprising an identifier of the 'user equipment as a member of the group; receive from the multimedia gateway, in response to the invitation request, an invitation to establish the wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode.

In one or more embodiments, the negotiation of the creation of the group may include a negotiation phase of group control, comprising: receiving from the multimedia gateway a group control request message, transmitting in response to the multimedia gateway group control abandonment message, and receive a group formation confirmation message from the multimedia gateway.

In one or more embodiments, the creation of a group under the control of the multimedia gateway can use the concept of group owner, in which case the group control request message is a negotiation request message from owner of group comprising a first group property intention value corresponding to a preconfigured maximum value, the group control abandonment message is a group owner negotiation response message comprising a second group property intention value less than the first group ownership intent value, and the group formation confirmation message is a group owner negotiation confirmation message.

Depending on the embodiment of the proposed method, the wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode may be of Wi-Fi Direct type, or of Tunneled Direct Link Setup, TDLS type. Wi-Fi Direct technology has the advantage of being implemented (in native mode included in the operating system functionalities) in a large number of user devices, especially those running AndroidTM. In addition, it allows the creation of equipment groups with negotiation of group owner, the groups possibly being of the persistent type.

According to a third aspect, there is proposed a multimedia gateway configured to deliver a data stream transporting multimedia content to a playback device, and to be controlled from a multimedia gateway control application executed on a user equipment, comprising: a controller comprising a processor, a communication unit, a memory, and a transmission management unit operatively coupled to the controller, and configured for the implementation of a method for managing the transmission of multimedia content according to the processes proposed herein. A multimedia gateway key is further proposed, comprising an interface for connection with a playback device, and a multimedia gateway device as proposed.

According to a fourth aspect, a user equipment is proposed comprising: a controller comprising a processor, a memory, a communication unit, a data transmission management unit in streaming mode, a power supply source, a system of operation, and a user interface operatively coupled to the controller, and configured for the implementation of a method for managing transmission of multimedia content according to a method proposed herein.

Another aspect relates to a computer program, loadable into a memory associated with a processor, and comprising portions of code for the implementation of a method proposed herein when the said program is executed by the processor.

Another aspect relates to a set of data representing, for example by compression or encoding, a computer program as proposed.

Another aspect relates to a non-transient storage medium for a computer-executable program, comprising a data set representing one or more programs, said one or more programs comprising instructions for, during the execution of said one or more programs by a computer comprising a processing unit operatively coupled to a memory and to an input / output interface module, causing the computer to control the reproduction of multimedia contents in a set of contents according to a method proposed herein.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear in the following description of nonlimiting exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the architecture of a multimedia content transmission system according to one or more embodiments;

- Figure 2a is a diagram illustrating a WFD session process in one or more embodiments;

- Figure 2b is a message flow diagram illustrating a WFD connection establishment in one or more embodiments using a point-to-point connection of Wi-Fi Direct (P2P) type;

- Figure 3a is a diagram illustrating the method proposed in one or more embodiments by a multimedia gateway;

- Figure 3b is a diagram illustrating the method proposed in one or more embodiments by user equipment;

- Figure 4a is a diagram illustrating a multimedia gateway device according to one or more embodiments;

- Figure 4b is a diagram illustrating user equipment according to one or more embodiments.

In the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, many specific details are presented to provide a more complete understanding. However, those skilled in the art can appreciate that embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, well-known features are not described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the description.

Miracast® technology (also called "Wi-Fi Display", or "WFD") allows the reproduction of audio-visual content (also called multimedia) transmitted over a point-to-point Wi-Fi link by a transmitting device (sometimes called source device) to a receiving device (sometimes called well device) connected to a playback device. An advantage of using a point-to-point wireless link between the sending device and the receiving device is that it can be established regardless of the existence - or not - of a wireless network. A detailed description of the Miracast® program of the Wi-Fi Alliance is provided in the "Wi-Fi Display Technical Specification Version 1.1" technical specification published in 2012 by the Wi-Fi Alliance.

By rendering of a multimedia stream (multimedia type data stream) of audio-visual type on a playback device, is meant here the display of at least one video part of the stream on a screen of the playback device and the playback of at least one audio part of the multimedia stream on one or more speakers of the playback device. Alternatively, when the multimedia stream is of the audio type, for example a stream broadcast by a radio station, and the playback of the stream only includes the playback of the stream on one or more speakers of the playback device.

The WFD technical specification provides for the transmission of multimedia content to a receiving device in streaming mode, that is to say by continuous download from the sending device. The data stream transmission in streaming mode can be done according to the RTSP protocol (in English "Real Time Streaming Protocol"), which allows to control the distribution of multimedia streams on a communication link using the Internet Protocol (in English , "Internet Protocol", or IP). The RTSP protocol is specified in the documents Request For Comments (RFC) 2326, entitled “Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP)”, published by the organization Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and RFC 7826, entitled “Real-Time Streaming Protocol Version 2.0”, published by the IETF in December 2016.

The WFD technical specification also provides for the use of a Wi-Fi Direct type or TDLS type point-to-point wireless link. The implementation and use of a point-to-point link of Wi-Fi Direct type (sometimes called “Wi-Fi Peer-to-Peer” link, or “P2P” link) is described in the technical specification “Wi -Fi Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Technical Specification ”, Version 1.2, published by the Wi-Fi Alliance organization in 2010 (hereinafter,“ P2P specification ”). The implementation and use of a point-to-point link of TDLS type (for “Tunneled Direct Link Setup”) is described in the IEEE 802.11z standard “IEEE Standard for Information technology- Local and metropolitan area networksSpecific requirements- Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications Amendment 7: Extensions to Direct-Link Setup (DLS) ”, published by ΙΊΕΕΕ in 2010.

On reception of a data stream carrying multimedia content, the equipment receiving the stream processes the received data (video sequence analysis, decompression, decoding, etc.), then the multimedia content is returned to the user by a reading of the video frames of the stream and of the associated soundtrack, with display on a screen of a reproduction device (for example a television set or a computer screen).

When the playback device (typically a screen or a television) is not configured to receive content in streaming mode, for example because it cannot be connected to the Internet, it is possible to access it in of continuous downloading (streaming) to content by connecting a multimedia gateway device (also called streaming reception device, streaming device, TV key or “streaming device” in English) to the rendering device, which can be of the remote type and take the form of a portable device (such as a TV key or a device of limited dimensions).

The multimedia gateway device is generally connected to an HDMI port (from the English “High Definition Multimedia Interface”) of the playback device, and configured to control the playback on this device of multimedia content received from a sending device and transported in data streams transmitted for example conforming to the Wi-Fi Display specification.

It is also usually possible to control a multimedia gateway device of the remote type from an application dedicated to its control, also called companion application, executable on user equipment of the smartphone or tablet type. This specific characteristic of multimedia gateway devices controllable from a companion application executed on a user equipment distinguishes them from television decoders (STB), which are multimedia gateways which depend on a native remote control and on the playback device (typically a to which they are connected for their user interface (the graphic interface for controlling a television decoder being displayed on the television screen). Conversely, the remote type multimedia gateways intended to be connected to a television depend on their companion application executable on a user equipment (eg smartphone or tablet) for their user interface. In particular, the multimedia gateways of the remote type do not display any user menu when they are connected to a television, and only displays a waiting screen asking the user to launch a companion application on a user equipment.

The user interface provided by the companion application typically makes it possible to control the operations linked to the management of WFD links in which the multimedia gateway has the role of sending or receiving device.

With reference to FIG. 1, the multimedia content transmission system 10 comprises, in one or more embodiments, a playback device (for example a television) 11, a multimedia gateway 12 of the connected TV key type (for example via an HDMI port) to the rendering device 11, one or more user devices (for example a set of smartphones and / or tablets) 13a, 13b, 13c, and a user device (for example a smartphone or a tablet) 14.

Preferably, the multimedia gateway 12 is configured to communicate by wireless network 15, for example of the Wi-Fi type, with the user equipment 14 on which is executed an application configured for the control of the multimedia gateway 12, also called companion application, configured to control the operations of the multimedia gateway 12 and comprising a user interface for the user commands of the multimedia gateway 12. The multimedia gateway 12 thus differs from a TV decoder (or Set-Top-Box) in that that it is configured to be controlled from the companion application when it is executed on the user equipment 14.

The multimedia gateway 12 can moreover be configured to communicate by a point-to-point wireless link of Wi-Fi Direct type with each of the user equipments 13a, 13b, 13c. In one or more embodiments, the multimedia gateway 12 can also be configured to communicate with the user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c using a Miracast® link (or Wi-Fi Display, WFD).

The user equipment 14 is suitable for implementing the companion application, and typically comprises a screen, for example a touch screen, for displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) for the companion application, a microphone for recording voice commands and other input interfaces configured according to the embodiment of the companion application for inputting user commands from the application.

In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 14 comprises a memory, a processing unit, equipped for example with a processor P, and controlled by an application, in particular the companion application dedicated to the control of the multimedia gateway .

The user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c can be a mobile phone, for example a smartphone, a tablet, a computer, an electronic component, or another device comprising a communication module, a user interface module (comprising for example a screen , a microphone, a speaker, a keyboard) and a processor operatively coupled to a memory, as well as, depending on the embodiment chosen, other associated hardware elements such as a network interface and a media player for read a removable storage medium and write on such a medium (not shown in the figure). The removable storage medium can be, for example, a compact disc (CD), a digital video / multi-purpose disc (DVD), a flash disc, a USB stick, etc. Depending on the embodiment, the memory or the removable storage medium contains instructions which, when executed by the processing unit, cause this processing unit to exchange data with the multimedia gateway 12 according to at least one mode of implementation of the proposed control method.

In a preferred embodiment, the rendering device 11 is a screen, and the TV key 12 is connected to an HDMI port of this screen 11.

FIG. 2a shows a diagram illustrating a WFD session process between a source WFD device, for example a user equipment, and a WFD device, for example, a multimedia gateway (key) equipment, in one or more embodiments. FIG. 2b shows a message flow diagram illustrating an example of implementation of the WFD connection establishment part of a WFD session process in one or more embodiments, within the framework of a Wi- Fi Direct.

With reference to FIGS. 2a and 2b, the WFD session process includes a Presence Discovery phase (in English, “WFD Device Discovery”) (51) during which the source WFD device and the WFD device can then be found present l 'to each other, prior to a WFD connection establishment phase (in English, "WFD Connection Setup").

During the Presence Discovery phase (50), each device (source and well) alternates search periods, in which they operate in a Search state (in English "Search"), with listening periods, in which they operate in a Listen state. The respective search and listening periods of the source and well devices are not necessarily synchronous, so that a search period (respectively listening) of one device can correspond temporally to a portion of the search period of the other device and a portion of the beginning of the listening period immediately following the search period of this other device, and vice versa. During a search period, a device transmits probing frames at regular intervals (in English "Probe request"), each probing frame being transmitted on a predefined radio channel selected during a prior phase of Radio Channel Scanning (in English "Scan") (50a) on different channels. During a listening period, a device listens to messages received on one of the predefined radio channels selected during the radio channel scanning phase, the channel scanning phase being common to both devices.

When a survey frame is transmitted by a device on a CAN_RAD radio channel corresponding to the radio channel listened to by the other device, this other device is in a position to receive the survey frame and respond to it, with a frame of survey acknowledgment (“Probe response”). A notification can then be sent to an application layer, and possibly to a user interface, of each device (source and well). This exchange of survey frame and acknowledgment frame, possibly followed by a notification to an application layer, can, depending on the implementation of WFD procedures within each device, conclude the discovery phase of presence. The Presence Discovery phase can thus be concluded when the source device and the well device are paired.

This Presence Discovery phase can, optionally, be followed by a Service Discovery phase (in English, “WFD Service Discovery”) (51) to allow the source and then devices to inform each other about their capabilities. WFD service, prior to the WFD Connection Establishment phase (53).

The Service Discovery phase (51) can be followed by a Device Selection phase (52a, 52b), during which the source device and / or the device can select 'other device (with which it is paired following the discovery phase) for the purpose of initiating with this device a WFD connection establishment phase. Depending on the implementation of the implementation of WFD procedures within each device, the device selection phase may involve a Device Selection performed by a user on a user interface with which the device is equipped, and / or preconfigured device selection rules within the device.

The WFD Connection Establishment phase (53) is performed once the source device or device has been selected following the Device Selection phase (52a, 52b). WFD connection establishment can start with a selection of connectivity scheme, between the P2P Wi-Fi scheme or the TDLS scheme. Although the following description relates to the case where the Wi-Fi P2P procedures are used for the establishment of a WFD connection, those skilled in the art may realize that other embodiments are possible, in particular the use TDLS procedures as part of WFD connection establishment as specified in the WFD technical specification.

The WFD technical specification provides that a WFD device forms a P2P group prior to establishing a WFD connection using the P2P Wi-Fi procedures as the underlying connectivity scheme. The process for forming a P2P group is described in the Wi-Fi P2P technical specification, which specifies in particular a Group Training Procedure that P2P devices must use for the formation of a P2P group. According to the Wi-Fi P2P technical specification, a P2P group is a set of devices consisting of a P2P Group Owner (in English, P2) and zero or more clients. Each P2P device must be capable of operating in P2P Group Owner mode or in P2P Client mode, a P2P Client being a P2P device connected to a P2P Group Owner. The P2P Group Owner provides functionality similar to that of an access point, and can provide and use connectivity between clients. The Group Training Procedure makes it possible to determine which device takes the role of P2P Group Owner, to exchange identification elements for the P2P group, and to determine the characteristics of the P2P group, in particular to determine whether the P2P group is a group P2P persistent or a temporary P2P group.

The Group Formation Procedure begins with a Group Owner Negotiation phase (53a), which can be initiated by the transmission by one of the two devices (among the source device and the device then) of a frame of Group Owner Negotiation request (in English, "GO Negotiation Request frame"). The Group Owner Negotiation request frame may include a P2P information element comprising in particular P2P capacity information (“P2P Capability”), information relating to the P2P device transmitting the frame (“P2P Device Info”), a intention to take ownership of the group ("Group Owner Intent") and a configuration timeout value ("Configuration Timeout").

The Group Owner Negotiation phase continues by sending, by the device having received the Group Owner Negotiation request frame and in response to this frame, to the device having sent this frame, a response frame Group Owner Negotiation (“GO Negotiation Response frame”). The Group Owner Negotiation response frame may include a P2P piece of information including P2P capacity information (“P2P Capability”), response status information (success or failure) (“Status”), information relating to the P2P device transmitting the frame (“P2P Device Info”), an intention to take ownership of the group value (“Group Owner Intent”) and a configuration timeout value (“Configuration Timeout”). The device receiving the Group Owner Negotiation request can thus inform the receiving device of its intention to participate in the formation of a P2P group by transmitting a response frame with a status value indicating successful negotiation.

Upon receipt of a Group Owner Negotiation response frame with response status information indicating success, the P2P device that issued the Group Owner Negotiation request frame can process the information included in the response received, and respond with a Group Owner Negotiation confirmation frame (“GO Negotiation Confirmation frame”). The Group Owner Negotiation confirmation frame may include a piece of information including status information to indicate a success or failure of the Group Owner Negotiation phase. When the status information indicates a success, the interpretation of the information contained in the Group Owner Negotiation confirmation frame is distinct, depending on whether the P2P equipment which transmits it wants to become the owner of the group or not. When the P2P equipment which transmits the Group Owner Negotiation confirmation frame wants to become the group owner, the information element may further include a channel list to indicate the channels that the group owner can use as channels of the group, as well as a group identifier attribute comprising a unique identifier chosen for the group.

As illustrated in Figure 2b, once the Group Owner Negotiation is complete, the group owner device (in Figure 2b, the device from WFD (UE)) transmits (53b) to any other device member of its group signals tag on a radio channel selected for the group.

The Connection Establishment phase (53) can continue with a Pairing phase (53c) between the source and well devices, for example according to the Wi-Fi protected configuration protocol (in English, "Wi-Fi Protected Setup ”, Or WPS), described in the technical specification“ Wi-Fi Simple Configuration ”version 2.0.4, published in 2014 by the Wi-Fi Alliance, in order to secure the connection to be established between the source and well WFD devices.

Once the connection is secure, an IP Address Negotiation phase (53d) is performed in order to establish a TCP / IP connection between the source device and the device then, for example according to the DHCP configuration protocol (from English "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), as illustrated in FIG. 2b with the exchanges of messages" DHCP discover "," DHCP offer "," DHCP request "and" DHCP ACK ".

The Connection Establishment (53) can be terminated on this phase of IP Address Negotiation (53d), once each of the source and sink devices has an IP address and a TCP connection is established between the two devices.

Referring to Figure 2b, the WFD session process includes, once layer 3 connectivity is established between the source and then WFD devices, a WFD session establishment phase (54). WFD session establishment can be implemented using messages from the multimedia streaming distribution protocol in RTSP streaming mode (from the English “Real Time Streaming Protocol”), as specified in the WFD technical specification (for example M5 to M7 messages specified in the WFD technical specification, including "RTSP SET_PARAMETER (M5 Trigger SETUP)", "M5 Response", "RTSP SETUP Request (M6 request)", "RTSP SETUP response (M6 response"), "RTSP PLAY request (M7 request), RTSP PLAY response (M7 response). Session Establishment (54b) is considered effective when an exchange of RTSP M7 messages (request and response) is successfully performed between the source devices and then The WFD Session Establishment phase can be preceded by a Capability Negotiation phase (54b), during which the source and then devices exchange RTSP messages (eg M1 to M4 messages specifi s in the WFD technical specification, of which "M1 - RTSP OPTIONS Request", "M1 - RTSP OPTIONS Response", "M2 - RTSP OPTIONS Request", "M2 - RTSP OPTIONS Response", "M3 - RTSP GET_PARAMETER Request", "M3 Response - OK ”,“ M4 RTSP SET_PARAMETER Request ”and“ M4 Response - OK ”) to determine a common core of capabilities for the establishment of the session (determination of the set of parameters of the audio / video stream data exchanged during the session).

Following the Establishment of Session (54b), a multimedia stream can be transmitted (55) in streaming mode between the source device and the device then upon receipt of a user command by the source device. The control of the transmission of multimedia streams can be carried out using RTSP messages such as the message "RTSP Play" to start the transmission, the message "RTSP Pause" to interrupt the transmission, and the message "RTSP Teardown" to put it there. end and end the session.

A P2P Group of equipment formed during a Group Training Procedure can have the characteristic of being persistent in that it can be reformed during other communication sessions. Equipment that joins a persistent P2P Group during training can store a group identifier in memory as well as authentication elements to join the group corresponding to the identifier, and use these elements when the group is re-formed for needs for a new communication session. The P2P device that owns a persistent group can also store in memory a list of identifiers of P2P devices that are members of the group that it owns.

The use of a persistent P2P group simplifies the Service Discovery (51) and Connection Establishment (53) phases between two or more P2P devices. The formation of a group of persistent type thus makes it possible to simplify the Establishment of WFD Connection as illustrated in Figure 2b. When the group is a persistent type group which has already been created (and therefore is the subject of a Group Formation Procedure), the WFD Connection Establishment may include a Radio Channel Scan phase (50a) and a Presence Discovery phase (50) as illustrated in Figure 2b. The Presence Discovery (50) is not in the case of a persistent group already created, not followed by a Group Owner Negotiation phase, but by an invitation phase (not illustrated in the figure) in which the device owner of the group, which recognizes in the device with which it carried out a Discovery of Presence a device member of its group, sends to this device an invitation to join the group to continue with this device the procedure of Establishment of Connection WFD . The device, which responds to the invitation by using its authentication elements to show that it is indeed a member of the persistent group, can thus join the group to advance the Connection Establishment towards a Pairing phase as described previously, Pairing phase which can also be simplified because the device has just joined a persistent group for which it had kept its authentication elements.

As a variant, or in addition, at the end of the Presence Discovery phase, the device which knows that it is a member of the persistent group without being its owner, can send, upon receipt of a beacon message transmitted by the owner of the group to announce itself to the possible members of its group, to the owner of the group an invitation request message to ask to be invited in the group. The device owner of the group, which has a list of identifiers of devices members of its group, can respond favorably or not to this invitation depending on whether the device at the origin of the invitation request message is or not a member of his group.

FIGS. 3a and 3b show diagrams illustrating methods proposed according to different embodiments, respectively implemented by a multimedia gateway (100) and by user equipment (200).

With reference to FIG. 3a, a multimedia content transmission system such as that illustrated in FIG. 1 is considered. In one or more embodiments, the multimedia gateway 12 can be configured to, once powered up, download from a companion application 16 executed on a user equipment 14 of the configuration data of an application executed on the multimedia gateway 12. This download is carried out using a wireless connection (we then speak of download in OTA mode, from English “ Over The Air ”). In a particular embodiment, the application executed on the multimedia gateway is of the "Webapp" type, that is to say a Web page including one or more applications executable by a Web browser. In this case, the multimedia gateway can be configured to execute a software script programmed to launch the execution of a web browser (in English, "web browser"), for example a browser supporting the HTML5 data format (from English “HyperText Markup Language 5”), and the reading by the browser of a Web page (loaded in memory) comprising one or more software scripts, for example of Java script type (in English, “Javascript”). As a variant, the application executed on the multimedia gateway may be of the native type, and its execution may be independent of the execution of a navigation application.

The configuration data downloaded from the user equipment 14 can define parameters associated with an application (for example of the Webapp type) executed on the multimedia gateway.

In one or more embodiments, the multimedia gateway 12 can be configured to execute an application interface (in English, “Application Programming Interface”, or API) allowing the implementation of Wi-Fi Direct or TDLS functions with one or more user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c. This API can be configured, for example natively or by means of configuration data downloaded from the user equipment 14, to create a group comprising the multimedia gateway and at least one of the user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c , and negotiate the takeover of this group.

The proposed method makes it possible to use the group functionality controlled by an equipment, like that which is proposed for example in Wi-Fi Direct technology, during a system configuration phase, to allow the use of WFD technology on group equipment in a completely transparent, and therefore simplified, way for users.

In one or more embodiments, the multimedia gateway 12 can constitute, for example during a system configuration phase, a group of equipment controlled by the multimedia gateway 12, the group comprising the multimedia gateway and at least one user equipment (e.g. smartphone or tablet) 13a, 13b, 13c.

A group of devices can thus be created to allow the management of communications, in particular of wireless type in point-to-point mode (for example Wi-Fi Direct), between the devices of the group. Depending on the embodiment, the control of the group by a device can include the ability to refuse the establishment of a communication session with a device not belonging to the group. Another example of a group control attribute, complementary or alternative to the previous example, may include the ability to accept the establishment of a communication session as soon as the session is established with equipment member of the group.

As part of establishing point-to-point wireless communication connections, the multimedia gateway 12 can be configured to create a group of devices to which it belongs, and comprising one or more of the user devices 13a, 13b, 13c , capable of transmitting multimedia content to it, each having done this beforehand establishing a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode with the multimedia gateway 12. By using a group of equipment controlled by the same equipment, in this case the multimedia gateway 12, the establishment of each of the point-to-point mode wireless communication connections (for example a Wi-Fi Direct communication connection) respectively between user devices 13a, 13b, 13c and the multimedia gateway 12 can advantageously be carried out transparently for the users of the equipment. s user 13a, 13b, 13c, insofar as the group's equipment has been preconfigured so that the establishment of a communication connection is carried out without the intervention of a user.

For example, in the example of implementation illustrated in FIG. 1, the multimedia gateway can create a group comprising the user equipments 13a, 13b and 13c, to which it belongs and which it controls.

In one or more embodiments, the multimedia gateway 12 can be designated as the equipment having control of the group comprising the multimedia gateway 12 and at least one user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c through negotiation of control of group between the group equipments. The group control negotiation can for example comprise the transmission by the multimedia gateway 12 to the at least one user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c of a group control request message, the reception in response, originating from the '' at least one user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c, of a group control abandonment message, and the transmission to the at least one user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c of a group formation confirmation message , the group formation confirmation message informing the user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c of the group formation and of the designation of the multimedia gateway 12 to the group control function. In the case of a group comprising the multimedia gateway 12 and several user equipments 13a, 13b and 13c, the group control negotiation designating the multimedia gateway 12 for the group control function may be carried out with each of the user equipments 13a, 13b and 13c of the group.

In one or more embodiments, the group comprising the multimedia gateway 12 and at least one user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c may be of the type described above with reference to the P2P groups as specified in the technical specification P2P. In particular, when a P2P group comprising the multimedia gateway and at least one user equipment is formed, the proposed method may include a Group Owner Negotiation phase at the end of which the multimedia gateway 12 is designated as the owner (GO ) of the constituted group. Group management operations, as described in the P2P specification, can also be advantageously used, in particular for the admission of new equipment into the group once formed, or the exit of equipment from the group.

In this case, the creation of the group may use the Group Formation Procedure, and / or the negotiation of group control may correspond to the Negotiation of Group Owner, both described above. In particular, the group control request message transmitted by the multimedia gateway may correspond to a Group Owner Negotiation request frame containing a first value of intention to take ownership of the group, the control abandonment message of the group transmitted by the user equipment having received the group control request message may correspond to a Group Owner Negotiation response frame containing a second value of intention to take ownership of the group less than the first value d intention to take ownership of the group, and the group training confirmation message transmitted by the multimedia gateway 12 may correspond to a Group Owner Negotiation confirmation frame.

Advantageously, the user equipments 13a, 13b, 13c, can be configured so as not to transmit Group Owner Negotiation request frames, the multimedia gateway 12 then being alone in transmitting such frames to the equipment whose presence it discovers, this in order to simplify and shorten the Group Owner Negotiation phase.

In one or more embodiments, provision may also be made to configure the multimedia gateway 12 to send Group Owner Negotiation request frames or, depending on the embodiment, Group Owner Negotiation response frames containing a maximum intention to take group ownership value among the intention to take group ownership values usable by P2P devices during the Group Owner Negotiation phase (in version 1.2 of the P2P specification, this value is equal to 15). The user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c can also advantageously be configured to send, depending on the embodiment, Group Owner Negotiation request frames or Group Owner Negotiation response frames containing an intention value take group ownership lower than the maximum value among the values usable by P2P devices during the Group Owner Negotiation phase.

With reference to FIG. 3a, the multimedia gateway 12 can determine (101) that a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode can be established with user equipment of the group, once the group has been created and the function for controlling the group assigned to the multimedia gateway 12.

In one or more embodiments, this determination can be made by the transmission, by the multimedia gateway 12, to equipment members of the group, of one or more invitations to establish a point-to-point type wireless communication connection. point. Preferably, the invitations to establish a communication connection are only transmitted by the multimedia gateway 12 to equipment the presence of which has been detected by the multimedia gateway 12 and which are members of the group controlled by the multimedia gateway. Alternatively, invitations to establish a communication connection can be sent to any device the presence of which has been detected, and verification of group membership can be carried out after sending the invitation.

As a variant, or in addition, this determination can be made following the reception, by the multimedia gateway 12, of invitation request messages transmitted by equipment which has detected the presence of the multimedia gateway 12. In one or more modes embodiment corresponding to this scenario, the multimedia gateway 12 determines, on receipt of an invitation request, whether the invitation request has been transmitted by user equipment which belongs to the group which it controls. In the event that the invitation request is received from an item of equipment in the group, the multimedia gateway 12 can transmit to the user equipment at the origin of the invitation request, in response to the invitation request, a invitation to establish the wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode. Thus, the multimedia gateway 12 responds to an invitation request received by an invitation to establish a communication connection after having verified and on the condition that the equipment at the origin of the invitation request belongs to the group of equipment. controlled by the multimedia gateway 12.

These message transmissions (invitations to establish a communication connection and invitation requests) can be carried out following a presence discovery phase, such as, for example, that described above for a WFD session between a source WFD device. and a WFD device can. Such a presence discovery phase in fact allows the devices (on the one hand the multimedia gateway 12, and on the other hand each of the user devices 13a, 13b, 13c) to discover their respective presences, which then makes it possible to exchange messages in order to establish a communication connection.

Upon determination that a point-to-point wireless communication connection can be established between the multimedia gateway 12 and one (or more) of the user devices 13a, 13b, 13c because of its membership in the group controlled by the multimedia gateway 12 , the point-to-point wireless communication connection is established (102). In one or more embodiments, the connection establishment is carried out in accordance with the Connection Establishment phase described above: the multimedia gateway can transmit as group owner to the user equipment (s) 13a , 13b, 13c member (s) of its group beacon signals on a radio channel selected for the group. A connection security phase, for example using the WPS protocol, can ensue with each user device 13a, 13b, 13c member of the group which responds to the beacon signals, then a TCP / IP connection can be established between the multimedia gateway 12 and a user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c in a manner known per se.

Once the point-to-point wireless communication connection is established between the multimedia gateway 12 and a user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c, a communication session using this connection can be established (103). In one or more embodiments, the communication session establishment may correspond to the WFD Session Establishment phase described above, using the RTSP protocol.

Depending on the embodiment, the operations described above (group creation, connection establishment 102 then session 103, following the determination that a connection can be established 101) can be carried out during a configuration phase and implementation of the equipment, or only some of these operations (group creation, not shown in the figure) can be carried out during a system configuration phase, while other operations (establishment of connection 102 then session 103, following the determination that a connection can be established 101) are carried out during a later system implementation phase.

For example, the multimedia gateway 12 and the user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c can be preconfigured so that a group controlled by the multimedia gateway 13 is automatically created, that is to say without user intervention and so transparent to the user (s) of the devices 12, 13a, 13b, 13c, the group comprising the multimedia gateway 12 and one or more of the devices 13a, 13b, 13c, when these devices are first powered up in the presence of other. Once the group has been formed, the implementation phase may involve different procedures, whether or not carried out following group formation (and for example when the equipment is switched on again after being switched off), depending on whether or not the group is persistent, as explained above.

For example, as part of a training session (school or professional), the equipment may have been prepared in advance of the session simply by turning it on in the presence of some (user equipment (s), typically tablet (s)) on the other (multimedia key connected to a screen), this powering triggering the constitution of the group (including negotiation of group owner for the benefit of the multimedia key) as preconfigured within the equipment.

In the case where the multimedia gateway has been configured to constitute a group of persistent type, it is not necessary to repeat this preliminary phase of preparation of the equipment, the persistent group having the capacity to reform without having to be reconstituted within the framework a procedure for establishing a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode, even when the multimedia gateway, owner of the group, is switched off (for example when the key is disconnected from a screen). Disconnecting the key would temporarily end the group due to the disappearance of the group owner, but the (persistent) group would re-form as soon as the group owner was put back into operation as well as at least one group equipment ( other than the owner).

Once the communication session has been established between the multimedia gateway 12 and each user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c in his group, a user of a user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c can request through a user interface the transmission of multimedia content (for example one or more images, a video, etc.) from its user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c to the multimedia gateway 12, for display on the screen to which the multimedia gateway 12 is connected.

The multimedia gateway 12 then receives (104), from the user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c on which the user command has been entered, a request for transmission of streaming data streams using the pre-established communication session between the equipment. The multimedia gateway (12) can be configured to accept this request, so that the transmission of a data stream carrying the multimedia content begins, and the stream is received (105) by the multimedia gateway 12.

In one or more embodiments, the multimedia gateway 12 can also be configured to constitute a group of persistent type, which offers the advantage of being able not only to simplify the creation of the group for the user, by fully automating it. without the user having to intervene, or partially, but also to simplify by automating the invitation procedure, described above, which allows a device that does not own the group, and for example user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c, to join the group without having to renegotiate the formation of the group, for a simplified connection establishment procedure.

In this case, the multimedia gateway 12 can be configured so that the determination that a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode can be established with user equipment belonging to its persistent group includes reception from the equipment. user, of an invitation request to establish a point-to-point wireless communication connection between the user equipment and the multimedia gateway, the verification that the invitation request is received from an equipment of the persistent group whose it owns, and in the event that the invitation request is received from a group device, the transmission to the user equipment, in response to the invitation request, of an invitation to establish the communication connection wireless in point-to-point mode.

In one or more embodiments, the multimedia gateway 12 can advantageously be configured to store in memory an identifier of the user equipment in association with the group, for example during the creation of the persistent group of which it is the owner. When the invitation request comprises a first identifier of the user equipment, the verification that the invitation request is received from a device of the group may include a verification that the first identifier corresponds to the identifier of the user equipment associated with the group stored in memory.

In the case where the first identifier corresponds to the identifier of the user equipment stored in memory, the multimedia gateway 12 can be configured to transmit to the user equipment, in response to the invitation request, the invitation to establish the wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode.

With reference to FIG. 3b, a user device, for example one of the devices 13a, 13b, 13c of FIG. 1, can be configured to establish a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode, for example of the P2P type, with a multimedia gateway, for example the multimedia gateway 12 of FIG. 1, as a member of a group of equipment controlled by the multimedia gateway 12.

The equipment group, comprising at least the multimedia gateway and the user equipment, will have been previously created, for example according to the procedures described above, and the user equipment may be configured so as to simplify a negotiation phase of group owner if necessary, or to ensure that the multimedia gateway 12 becomes the owner of the group formed.

To do this, the negotiation of the creation of the group may, in one or more embodiments, include a negotiation phase of group control, comprising the reception by the user equipment, coming from the multimedia gateway, of a message of group control request, the transmission in response to the multimedia gateway of a group control abandonment message, and the reception, from the multimedia gateway, of a group formation confirmation message. In one embodiment, the group control request message may be a group owner negotiation request message comprising a first group ownership intention value corresponding to a preconfigured maximum value, the abandonment message of group control may be a group owner negotiation response message including a second group property intention value less than the first group property intention value, and the group formation confirmation message may be a group owner negotiation confirmation message, all of these messages being for example specified in the WFD technical specification.

Preferably, the group of devices controlled by the multimedia gateway will be of the persistent type, as described above, which has the advantage of only negotiating group owner during the group creation phase. Thus, in the case of a persistent group, the establishment of the connection with the multimedia gateway can be carried out without prior group creation process, for example when powering up the equipment.

In one or more embodiments, the establishment of the connection (201) may comprise the transmission by the user equipment to the multimedia gateway of a request for invitation to establish a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode. , the request comprising an identifier of the user equipment as a member of the group, and the reception, coming from the multimedia gateway, in response to the invitation request, of an invitation to establish the wireless communication connection in mode point to point, all of these messages being for example specified in the P2P technical specification.

Once the connection is established, the user equipment can establish (202) with the multimedia gateway a communication session using the connection.

The user equipment can be provided with a user interface, for example a tablet touch screen, allowing a user to control the transmission (203) to the multimedia gateway of a message for requesting the transmission of streaming data streams. using the point-to-point wireless communication session established with the multimedia gateway.

The transmission of data to the multimedia gateway in streaming mode using the point-to-point wireless communication session established with the multimedia gateway can then be negotiated, for example according to the WFD procedure described above, to result in the transmission. (204) to the multimedia gateway of a data stream transporting the multimedia content.

The proposed method can be implemented, both at multimedia gateway equipment and at user equipment level (eg smartphone, tablet) by means of software and / or hardware components. In this perspective, the terms "module" and "unit" can correspond in this document as well to a software component, as to a hardware component or to a set of hardware and / or software components, able to implement a function or a set of functions, as described below for the module or unit concerned.

A software component corresponds to one or more computer programs executable by a processor, one or more subroutines of a program, or more generally to any element of a program or software. Such a software component is stored in memory then loaded and executed by a data processor of a physical entity (multimedia gateway, user equipment, terminal, etc.) and is capable of accessing the hardware resources of this physical entity (memories, recording media, communication bus, electronic input / output cards, user interfaces, etc.).

Likewise, a hardware component corresponds to any element of a hardware (or hardware) set. It can be a programmable hardware component or with an integrated processor for software execution, for example an integrated circuit (such as an integrated circuit for specific application (ASIC, from the English “Apptication-Specific Integrated Circuit”) , a system on chip (SOC, from the English “System On Chip”), a smart card, an electronic card for the execution of a firmware, etc.

SOCs are embedded systems that integrate all the components of an electronic system into a single chip. An ASIC is a specialized electronic circuit that brings together functionalities tailored to a given application. ASICs are generally configured during their manufacture and can only be simulated by the user.

A transmission management method as proposed can also use hybrid architectures, such as for example architectures based on a CPU + FPGA, a GPU (from the English "Graphics Processing Unit") or an MPPA (from the English " Muiti-Purpose Processor Array ”).

The proposed method can also be implemented in the form of a combination of software and hardware elements, such as for example a software program intended to be loaded and executed on a component of the programmable logic circuits (FPGA) type. "Field Programmable Gate Array"). FPGAs are user-reconfigurable electronic circuits.

FIG. 4a is a diagram illustrating a multimedia gateway device configured for the implementation of one or more embodiments of the proposed method.

With reference to FIG. 4a, the multimedia gateway 12 is an electronic device which comprises an interface unit with a rendering device 150, a power interface unit 151, a controller 152, a communication unit 153, a video processing unit 154, a memory unit 155, and a multimedia stream transmission management unit in streaming mode 156.

In the architecture illustrated in FIG. 4a, the interface unit with a rendering device 150, the power supply interface unit 151, the communication unit 153, the video processing unit 154, l the memory unit 155, and the multimedia stream transmission management unit in streaming mode 156 are operatively coupled with one another via the controller 152.

The memory unit 155 may include one or more memories, of the read only memory (ROM) type (ROM) and of the RAM random access memory type (for <“Random Access Memory”), including a memory in which is stored. a computer program executable (firmware) by a processor of the controller 152 of the multimedia gateway 12. Depending on the embodiment, the memory (s) of the memory unit 155 contain computer program instructions which, when they are executed by the controller 152, cause this controller 152 to perform or control the interface parts with a rendering device 150, power supply interface 151, communication 153, video processing 154, memory 155, and transmission management 156 of the examples of implementation of the proposed process described herein.

The communication unit 153 includes a communication interface on a local area network 153a of the wireless type (for example of the Wi-Fi type, compliant with the standards

802.11 published by the standardization body IEEE (from the English "Instituée of Electrical and Electronics Engineers")), which includes a radio frequency transmitter and receiver and a transmit / receive antenna (not shown in the figure). The communication interface on a local network 153a can be configured to connect the multimedia gateway 12 to a local network and communicate with other nodes of the local network and / or connect to a broadband network via the local network ( for example through a gateway between the local network and a broadband network, such as the Internet).

In one or more embodiments, the communication interface on a local network 153a is also configured to communicate on wireless communication links in point-to-point mode, for example of P2P or TDLS type, with user equipment for the transmission of data streams in streaming mode to the multimedia gateway 12. For example, the communication interface 153a may typically be able to receive a stream transmitted by a user equipment according to WFD technology. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3a, the communication interface on a local network 153a can be used for point-to-point wireless communications between the multimedia gateway 12 and a user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c, for example of the type P2P or TDLS, or according to a set of communication protocols / stacks as specified in the technical specification WFD, in particular for receiving multimedia stream data coming from user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c of FIG. 1.

The communication interface on a local area network 153a is configured to transmit, to a user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c executing a stream transmission management application transporting multimedia content according to the methods proposed, and to receive from this user equipment, data and messages as described herein according to the proposed procedures.

The video processing unit 154 is configured to carry out processing on the multimedia streams received by the multimedia gateway 12, comprising a video decoding of these streams according to the type of encoding used to encode the received streams, and to prepare the data after processing to deliver them to a rendering device. For example, depending on the embodiment chosen, the video processing unit 154 may be configured to decode and / or decompress an encoded or, respectively, compressed video sequence according to an H.264 type diagram, H. 265, H. 262, MPEG-2 (from the English "Moving Picture Experet Group", MPEG), AVC, and / or H. 265 / MPEG-4 HEVC (from the English "High Efficiency Video Coding" ). It can therefore include a set of decoders (audio and / or video) capable of decoding multimedia content.

The interface unit with a playback device 150 may comprise a male connector of the HDMI type, and is configured to physically and logically interface with a compatible playback device, and in particular for receiving multimedia stream data after processing and deliver them to a rendering device to which the multimedia gateway is connected in operational mode.

The power interface unit 151, which for example comprises a micro-USB connector (from the English “Universal Serial Bus”), is configured to power the multimedia gateway 12 when it is connected to a USB port ( e.g. a USB port on a TV) or to an electrical outlet via a suitable AC adapter.

The streaming media transmission management unit 156 is configured to, during a system configuration phase, create a group of equipment controlled by the multimedia gateway, the group comprising the multimedia gateway and at least one equipment user, and, upon determination that a point-to-point wireless communication connection can be established with a user equipment of the group, establishing the point-to-point wireless communication connection with the user equipment, and establishing a communication session using the connection.

In one or more embodiments, the transmission management unit 156 can be configured to create a group of equipment and determine that a communication connection can be established with an equipment of the group according to the different embodiments of these. operations described above, in connection with the configuration of the communication interface 153a. For example, the transmission management unit 156 and the communication interface 153a can be configured for establishing wireless transmission links for multimedia content in WFD type streaming mode, for example by using communication communication connections. P2P type.

The controller 152 is configured to control the units of the multimedia gateway 12, and in particular the transmission management unit 156. The controller 152 may comprise a component implementing one or more processors, and be controlled by an application or a program d 'computer, configured for the implementation of one or more embodiments of the proposed method. At initialization, the code instructions of the computer program are for example loaded into a RAM memory of the memory unit 155, before being executed by a processor of the controller 152.

The transmission management unit 156 can be in the form of software which, when loaded into a memory of the memory unit 155 and executed by a processor of the multimedia gateway 12, implements the control of restitution of multimedia content according to the proposed method. In addition, the management unit 156 can be implemented in software form, as described above, or in hardware form, as an application-specific integrated circuit (in English "Application-Specific Integrated Circuit", or ASIC), or in the form of a combination of hardware and software elements, such as for example a software program intended to be loaded and executed on a component of type FPGA (“Field Programmable Gate Array”).

The architecture of the multimedia gateway illustrated in FIG. 4a is not, however, limiting. For example, the interface unit with a rendering device 150 can comprise any type of audio / video interface other than an HDMI type interface. Similarly, the power interface unit 151 can include any type of power interface other than a serial interface of the USB type. Finally, the transmission management unit 156 and the communication interface 153a can be configured for the implementation of the methods proposed according to any type of technology for wireless transmission of multimedia content in streaming mode other than WFD technology.

FIG. 4b is a diagram illustrating a user equipment device configured for the implementation of one or more embodiments of the proposed method.

With reference to FIG. 4b, the user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c can be any type of equipment, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal assistant, a personal computer, a laptop, or any other type of electronic device. The user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c can include a controller 162, a memory unit 165, a communication unit 163, a data transmission management unit in streaming mode 166, a power supply source 161 (for example a battery, solar panel, and / or connector for power cable), an operating system unit 160, and a user interface 162.

In the architecture illustrated in FIG. 4b, the memory unit 165, the communication unit 163, the data transmission management unit in streaming mode 166, the power supply source 161, the system unit d operation 160 and user interface 162 are operatively coupled with each other through controller 162.

Depending on the embodiment, the memory unit 165 may comprise one or more memories, of the read only memory or ROM type and of the random access memory RAM, including a memory in which is stored a computer program executable by a processor of the controller. 162 of the user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c. Depending on the embodiment, the memory (s) of the memory unit 165 contain computer program instructions which, when executed by the controller 162, cause this controller 162 to carry out or control the communication parts 163, management of data transmission in streaming mode 166, power supply 161, and user interface 162 of the examples of implementation of the proposed method described herein.

The communication unit 163 comprises a communication interface on a local area network 163a of the wireless type (for example of the Wi-Fi type, conforming to the standards 802.11 published by the standardization body IEEE), which includes a radio transmitter / receiver -frequency and a transmit / receive antenna (not shown in the figure). In one or more embodiments, the communication interface on a local network 153a is configured to communicate on wireless communication links in point-to-point mode, for example of the WFD type, for example for the transmission of data streams in streaming mode to a multimedia gateway 12 configured for this purpose. For example, the communication interface 163a may typically be able to transmit a data stream according to WFD technology. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3b, the communication interface on a local network 163a can be used for point-to-point wireless communications between the multimedia gateway 12 and a user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c, for example of the type P2P or TDLS, or according to a set of communication protocols / stacks as specified in the technical specification WFD, in particular for transmitting multimedia stream data to the multimedia gateway 12 of FIG. 1.

The communication interface on a local network 163a can be configured to send, to a multimedia gateway 12, and receive from this gateway, data and messages as described herein according to the methods proposed.

The user interface 162 can include any type of component for user input or commands, such as a keyboard, a touch screen, a mouse, or any other similar component. The user interface 162 can also include security functionalities, such as for example an authentication element manager (personal identification code, login and password), a fingerprint scanner or any type of reader. biometric.

The user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c typically comprises an operating system (in English “Operating System”, or OS) which includes computer program instructions executable by a processor for the functions of global management of the equipment. user 13a, 13b, 13c. In the embodiments where the user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c is a mobile device, the operating system 160 of the user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c can be configured as a mobile operating system, and include additional management functions linked to the mobile functionalities of the user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c, such as the transmission and reception of wireless signals, localization functionalities, for example of GPS type, etc. In particular, the mobile operating system can be designed to control wireless transmission functionality in multimedia stream streaming mode, for example using WFD technology. Examples of mobile operating systems include the AndroidTM system (in all its past, present or future versions, such as, among others, Cupcake, Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop, Marshmallow , and Nougat), and mobile operating systems based on AndroidTM or the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) such as, among others, Android Open Kang Project (AOKP), ColorOS, CyanogenMod, Cyanogen OS, Emotion User Interface (EMUI), Flyme OS, Sense, Mi User Interface (MIUI), UX, OxygenOS, TouchWiz, and ZenUI), iOS, Windows 10 Mobile, BlackBerry 10, Sailfish OS, Tizen, Ubuntu Touch OS, and H5OS.

The streaming media transmission management unit 166 comprises a software application configured to, on the one hand, receive and process a command entered by a user on the user interface 162, and, on the other hand, control the execution of multimedia stream transmission functions in streaming mode on a point-to-point wireless link, functions possibly integrated into the functionalities of the operating system 160.

In one or more embodiments, the transmission management unit 166 can be configured for, automatically on the occurrence of an event triggering the operations of the unit 166 (for example, depending on the embodiment, setting power on to the user equipment 13a, 13b, 13c, execution of a multimedia stream transmission management application, execution of an application comprising a multimedia stream transmission management part, etc.) negotiate with a multimedia gateway creation of a group of equipment controlled by the multimedia gateway, then, when the group is constituted, establish a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode with the multimedia gateway as a member of the group controlled by the multimedia gateway, establish with the multimedia gateway a communication session using the connection, on reception of a user command, tran send to the multimedia gateway, using the wireless communication session in point-to-point mode established with the multimedia gateway, a message requesting the transmission of streaming data streams, and transmit to the multimedia gateway, using the session of point-to-point wireless communication established with the multimedia gateway, a data stream transporting multimedia content. For example, the transmission management unit 166 and the communication interface 163a can be configured for the establishment of wireless transmission links for multimedia content in WFD type streaming mode, for example by using communication communication connections. P2P type.

The controller 162 is configured to drive the user equipment units 13a, 13b, 13c, and in particular the transmission management unit 166. The controller 162 may include a component implementing one or more processors, and be controlled by a application or a computer program, configured for the implementation of one or more embodiments of the proposed method. At initialization, the code instructions of the computer program are for example loaded into a RAM memory of the memory unit 165, before being executed by a processor of the controller 162.

In one or more embodiments, the user interface 162 may include a graphical user interface (in English, “Graphical User interface”, or GUI) configured for a touch screen, and displayed on this screen during the execution of an application, for example a multimedia stream transmission management application of the unit 166. The multimedia stream transmission management management unit in streaming mode 166 can also, in one embodiment, be implemented, in all or part, in the form of a software library of computer programs, certain elements of this library being called and executed on execution of an application, for example an educational application.

This graphical user interface can include a user command button, thus providing the user with a particularly simplified interface located at the application level, in that it saves him from having to search in menus for configuring his equipment to put implement a multimedia stream transmission session.

Thus, user equipment, of the tablet type for example, can be configured so that, on launching an application implementing the functions of the multimedia stream transmission management unit 166, the Wi-Fi transducer is automatically controlled by the unit 166 to be activated, and that the unit 166 is automatically implemented to negotiate with a multimedia gateway the creation of a group of equipment controlled by the multimedia gateway, then, when the group is formed, establish a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode with the multimedia gateway as a member of the group controlled by the multimedia gateway, establishing with the multimedia gateway a communication session using the connection, all without user intervention. In the case where the user equipment is configured to negotiate a group of persistent type with the multimedia gateway, it can also be configured to take advantage of this characteristic of the group in order to simplify the procedure for establishing a wireless communication connection. in point-to-point mode with the multimedia gateway, avoiding repeating the group creation procedure, once the group has been set up, each time the equipment is switched on, the multimedia gateway, or restarting the application, or after any other event which results in (temporarily) ending the group.

Once the communication session has been established (automatically and without user intervention), the user can control the transmission of streaming data streams to the multimedia gateway by activating the command button on the graphical interface. .

The proposed method therefore makes it possible to implement a data stream transmission transporting multimedia content only, from the point of view of the user, at the application level, by automating the connection establishment and session establishment procedures which are performed transparently to the user. It thus allows the user to avoid the inconvenience and complexity of the manual configurations linked to the transmission of data streams carrying multimedia content, in particular connection establishment and / or session establishment, and offers a solution in cases where a user with certain restricted access rights cannot access the equipment menus to perform these manual configurations.

Depending on the embodiment chosen, certain acts, actions, events or functions of each of the methods described in this document may be performed or occur in a different order from that in which they have been described, or may be added, merged or not be performed or not occur, as the case may be. In addition, in certain embodiments, certain acts, actions or events are performed or occur concurrently and not successively.

Although described through a certain number of detailed exemplary embodiments, the proposed encoding method and the equipment for implementing the method include various variants, modifications and improvements which will become obvious to those skilled in the art. art, it being understood that these different variants, modifications and improvements form part of the scope of the invention, as defined by the claims which follow. In addition, various aspects and characteristics described above can be implemented together, or separately, or else substituted for one another, and all of the different combinations and sub-combinations of the aspects and characteristics are part of the scope of the invention. . In addition, some systems and equipment described above may not incorporate all of the modules and functions described for the preferred embodiments.

Claims (16)

1. A method for managing the transmission of multimedia content, the method comprising, in a multimedia gateway configured to deliver to a playback device data transporting multimedia content: determining that a point-to-point wireless communication connection can be established with a user equipment, the user equipment belonging to a group of equipment controlled by the multimedia gateway, the group comprising at least the multimedia gateway and the user equipment; upon determination that a point-to-point wireless communication connection can be established with the group user equipment, establishing the point-to-point wireless communication connection with the user equipment, and establishing a communication session using the connection; receive, from the user equipment, a message requesting the transmission of streaming data streams, the transmission using the communication session; receive, from the user equipment, a data stream carrying the multimedia content. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to determining that a point-to-point wireless communication connection can be established with the user equipment, a creation of the group which includes a control negotiation phase of the group comprising: transmitting to the user equipment a group control request message, receiving in response from the user equipment a group control abandonment message, transmitting to the user equipment a training confirmation message of the group. 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, in which the determination that the wireless communication session in point-to-point mode can be established with the user equipment of the group comprises: receiving, from the user equipment, a request for invitation to establish a point-to-point wireless communication connection between the user equipment and the multimedia gateway; verify that the invitation request is received from a group device; in the event that the invitation request is received from a group device, transmit to the user device, in response to the invitation request, an invitation to establish the wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode. 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: storing in memory an identifier of the user equipment in association with the group, and in which: the request comprises a first identifier of the user equipment, and verifying that the request invitation is received from equipment of the group includes: verifying that the first identifier corresponds to the identifier of the user equipment associated with the group, the method comprising: in the case where the first identifier corresponds to the identifier of the user equipment, transmit to the user equipment, in response to the invitation request, the invitation to establish the wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode. 5. Method for managing the transmission of multimedia content to a multimedia gateway, the method comprising, in user equipment belonging to a group of equipment controlled by the multimedia gateway, the group comprising at least the multimedia gateway and the equipment user; establishing a point-to-point wireless communication connection with the multimedia gateway as a member of the group controlled by the multimedia gateway; establish with the multimedia gateway a communication session using the connection; on receipt of a user command, transmit to the multimedia gateway, using the wireless communication session in point-to-point mode established with the multimedia gateway, a request message for transmitting streaming data streams; transmitting to the multimedia gateway, using the wireless communication session in point-to-point mode established with the multimedia gateway, a data stream transporting the multimedia content. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: negotiating with the multimedia gateway the creation of a group of equipment controlled by the multimedia gateway, the group comprising the multimedia gateway and the user equipment. 7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein the establishment of the communication connection comprises: transmitting to the multimedia gateway a request to invite to establish a wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode, the request comprising a identifying user equipment as a member of the group; receive from the multimedia gateway, in response to the invitation request, an invitation to establish the wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode. 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the negotiation of the creation of the group comprises a group control negotiation phase, comprising: receiving from the multimedia gateway a group control request message, transmitting in response to the multimedia gateway a group control abandonment message, and receive from the multimedia gateway a group formation confirmation message. 9. The method according to claim 2, in which the group control request message is a group owner negotiation request message comprising a first group property intention value corresponding to a value. maximum preconfigured, the group control abandonment message is a group owner negotiation response message including a second group property intention value less than the first group property intention value, and the message Group Formation Confirmation is a group owner negotiation confirmation message. 10. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the wireless communication connection in point-to-point mode is of Wi-Fi Direct or Tunneled Direct Link Setup, TDLS type. 11. Multimedia gateway configured to deliver a data stream transporting multimedia content to a playback device and to be controlled from a multimedia gateway control application executed on user equipment, comprising: a controller comprising a processor , a communication unit, a memory, and a transmission management unit operatively coupled to the controller, and configured for the implementation of a multimedia content transmission management method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and 9. 12. User equipment comprising: a controller comprising a processor, a memory, a communication unit, a data transmission management unit in streaming mode, a power supply source, an operating system, and a user interface coupled operationally at the controller, and configured for the implementation of a method for managing the transmission of multimedia content according to any one of claims 5 to 9. 13. Multimedia gateway key, comprising an interface for connection with a playback device, and a multimedia gateway device according to claim 11. 14. Computer program, loadable in a memory associated with a processor, and comprising portions of code for the implementation of a method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 during the execution of said program by the processor. 15. A data set representing, for example by compression or encoding, a computer program according to claim 13. 5 16. Non-transient storage medium for a computer-executable program, comprising a data set representing one or more programs, said one or more programs comprising instructions for, during the execution of said one or more programs by a computer comprising a processing unit operatively coupled to a memory and to an input / output interface module, driving 10 the computer to control the reproduction of multimedia content in a set of content according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 10.