JP2004326683A - Content distribution method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable even the display layout and the displayed content of content information distributed by a multicast to be switched by a client's interactive operation, using a content distribution method and system by which multimedia contents composed of animation, voice, still pictures, text and the like are distributed from a server to clients. <P>SOLUTION: A media management server 10 sends media information indicating content information to be received via a network and screen layout information indicating that the displayed content be changed according to the arrangement of the screen display and an event occurring at the client. The client 28 receives the content information and the screen layout information according to the media information and changes the screen display correspondingly to the occurrence of the event. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a content distribution method and a content distribution system for distributing multimedia content composed of moving images, audio, still images, text, and the like from a server to a client.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The following method is used when distributing multimedia content composed of moving images, audio, still images, text, and the like from a server to a client. As a first method, there is a method using a Web server and a Web browser on the client side. In this method, the Web server distributes a file in which a display layout is described or a file constituting multimedia content to a client in response to a request from a Web browser. The Web browser on the client side displays on the screen based on the distributed information.
[0003]
As a second method, there is a method using a streaming server and a streaming player on the client side. In this method, the streaming server, upon request from the client, transmits information such as moving images, audio, and the like constituting the multimedia content (hereinafter, information such as moving images, audio, still images, and text constituting the multimedia content). Content information) is distributed to the client. On the client side, while receiving the content information, the streaming player sequentially reproduces moving images, sounds, and the like.
[0004]
As a third method, there is a method using a Web server and a streaming server, and a Web browser on which a streaming player is pasted. That is, the third method is a method combining the first and second methods.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional method, the screen display on the client side cannot be changed unless the information distributed from the Web server or the streaming server is changed. That is, the screen display cannot be changed only by the operation on the client side. Therefore, if the information received from the Web server, the streaming server, or the like is the same, the screen display on each client side is the same, and each client cannot change it.
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a content distribution method and a content distribution system that can change the layout and display content on a screen by an operation on a client side even when information distributed from a server side is the same. It is in.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The above-mentioned object is achieved in that the distribution side has first instruction information for instructing electronic information to be received via a network, and second instruction information for instructing a change in display content according to a screen display configuration and an event occurring on the client side. Transmitting the instruction information, the client side receiving the electronic information and the second instruction information based on the first instruction information, and changing the screen display in response to the occurrence of the event. Is achieved by a content distribution method.
[0008]
In the content distribution method of the present invention, the event is an event based on an operation of an input device or an event based on an operation of a timer. In the above content distribution method according to the present invention, the input device is a keyboard or a mouse.
[0009]
In the above content distribution method of the present invention, the electronic information is distributed by multicast.
[0010]
In addition, the above object is to provide first instruction information for instructing electronic information to be received via a network, and a second instruction for instructing a change in display content according to a screen display configuration and an event occurring on the client side. And a client that receives the electronic information and the second instruction information based on the first instruction information and changes the screen display in response to the occurrence of the event. This is achieved by a content distribution system characterized by the following.
[0011]
In the above content distribution system of the present invention, the event is an event based on an operation of an input device or an event based on an operation of a timer. In the above content distribution system of the present invention, the input device is a keyboard or a mouse.
[0012]
In the above content distribution system of the present invention, the electronic information is distributed by multicast.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
A content distribution method and a content distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a content distribution system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the content distribution system includes a media management server 10 connected to the communication network 1, a plurality of content distribution servers, and a plurality of clients 28.
[0014]
As the content distribution server, for example, a live audio distribution server 12 that distributes live audio data input via a microphone 24 in real time, a live video distribution server 14 that distributes live video data input via a camera 26 in real time, and storage. An audio distribution server 16 that distributes audio data stored in the storage unit, a video distribution server 18 that distributes video data stored in the storage unit, a still image distribution server 20 that distributes still image data stored in the storage unit, and There is a character information distribution server 22 that distributes character information stored in the storage unit.
[0015]
The communication network 1 is a communication network constructed by a LAN (local area network), a WAN (wide area network), or the like.
[0016]
Each client 28 includes a communication unit, an information output unit, and an event detection unit. Here, the communication means is a means for connecting to each server via the communication network 1 and transmitting / receiving information. The information output means is a means for processing received content information (electronic information) and the like and outputting images, sounds, and the like. The event detecting means is a means for detecting an event generated by operating an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard, an event generated by operation of a timer, and the like.
[0017]
The media management server 10 distributes media information (first instruction information) and screen layout information (second instruction information) described later to the client 28. Further, the media management server 10 transmits a content distribution request to the content distribution server.
[0018]
The media information includes the destination IP address and port number of the screen layout information, the identifier of each piece of content information, the type of media, the destination IP address, and the port number. The identifier of the content information is a code assigned to each piece of content information in order to correspond to information in the screen layout information. That is, in the screen layout information, information described later is described for each identifier. Therefore, when the identifier assigned to each piece of content information is exchanged, the information in the corresponding screen layout information is also exchanged. The media type of the content information is information necessary for displaying the content information, such as a moving image and a still image. The destination IP address of the screen layout information and the destination IP address of each content information are both IP addresses for multicast.
[0019]
The screen layout information includes the display position, display size and color of the content information corresponding to each identifier as basic information, information necessary for display such as enlargement / reduction of the display size, and, in the case of audio, channel designation and the like. Information is described. Further, as the additional information, how to change the basic information when an event occurs on the client 28 side is described.
[0020]
Next, a content distribution method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a data flow between the client 28, the media management server 10, and each content distribution server. FIG. 2 exemplifies three live video distribution servers 14a to 14c that distribute live videos different from each other as content distribution servers.
[0021]
First, the media management server 10 determines in advance the display contents to be displayed on the screen of the client 28 and how to change the display contents when an event occurs. The media management server 10 transmits live video distribution requests to the live video distribution servers 14a to 14c via the communication network 1 based on the determined display contents (steps S1-1 to S1-3).
[0022]
On the other hand, in order to receive the media information, the client 28 waits for the media information with a predetermined destination IP address (IP address for multicast) and a port number (step S2).
[0023]
The media management server 10 appropriately and repeatedly distributes the media information to the destination IP address and port number on which the client 28 is waiting at predetermined time intervals. The client 28 waiting at the destination IP address and the port number receives the media information (Step S3).
[0024]
The client 28 waits for the screen layout information and each content information with the destination IP address and the port number described in the received media information (step S4).
[0025]
The media management server 10 repeatedly distributes the screen layout information to the destination IP address and the port number described in the media information at predetermined time intervals. On the other hand, the client 28 waiting for the screen layout information based on the media information receives the screen layout information distributed from the media management server 10 (step S5).
[0026]
The live video distribution servers 14a to 14c perform streaming distribution of the live video data to the destination IP address and port number described in the media information in response to the request (steps S1-1 to S1-3) from the media management server 10. I have. At this time, in addition to the live video data of the normal resolution, live video data of the same content and low resolution may be distributed together for an initial screen for simultaneously displaying a plurality of live videos on the client 28, for example. .
[0027]
On the other hand, the client 28 waiting for the content information based on the media information receives the live video data (including the low-resolution live video data) distributed from the live video distribution servers 14a to 14c, respectively (step S6-1). ~ S6-3). Note that, even in the case of a content distribution server other than the above, the client 28 can receive information such as a still image, a moving image, audio, and text (character information) in a similar manner. Information such as a still image and text is repeatedly delivered at predetermined time intervals, or delivered at each update timing.
[0028]
The client 28 performs screen display and audio output based on the basic information included in the received screen layout information and each piece of content information.
[0029]
FIG. 3 shows an example of an initial screen (preview screen) displayed on the client 28 based on the basic information included in the screen layout information. As shown in FIG. 3, on the screen 30, two live images a and b having relatively small display sizes and one button 40 are arranged at positions based on the screen layout information. The client 28 reproduces the live video a while receiving the low-resolution live video data from the live video distribution server 14a, and reproduces the live video b while receiving another low-resolution live video data from the live video distribution server 14b. are doing. Note that each live video data having a normal resolution may be reduced and reproduced on the client 28 side.
[0030]
Thus, each content distribution server that distributes each piece of content information distributes the content information to the destination IP address and port number described in the media information. On the other hand, the client 28 can receive each piece of content information because it is waiting on the destination IP address and the port number of each piece of content information included in the media information. Further, the client 28 arranges each content on the screen 30 based on the screen layout information received from the media management server 10. If there is live video distributed in real time, the client 28 sequentially reproduces the live video while receiving it. If there is audio distributed in real time, the client 28 sequentially reproduces the audio while receiving it.
[0031]
When the client 28 detects an event generated by operating an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard or an event generated by an operation of a timer by the event detecting means, the screen layout is determined based on the additional information included in the screen layout information. And the display contents are changed according to the event (step S7). For example, in the case of an event generated by a mouse operation (hereinafter, an event generated by a mouse operation is referred to as a mouse event), a different screen layout is displayed according to the clicked position. In this case, the additional information included in the screen layout information describes, for each clicked position, a change in display content according to the clicked position.
[0032]
FIG. 4 shows an example of a screen display displayed on the client 28 when a mouse event occurs. FIG. 4A shows a screen display when the live image a on the screen 30 shown in FIG. 3 is clicked, and FIG. 4B shows a screen display when the live image b on the screen 30 is clicked. I have. FIG. 4C shows a screen display when the button 40 on the screen 30 is clicked. When the live video a is clicked, an event corresponding thereto is generated, and the display content is changed according to the event based on the additional information of the screen layout information. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4A, a live image A having the same content as the live image a and a larger display size than the live image a is displayed on the screen 31, for example, on almost the entire screen. The live video A is distributed from the live video distribution server 14a. The client 28 sequentially reproduces the live video A while receiving it. Thereafter, for example, when the live video A is clicked, an event corresponding thereto is generated, and the display content is changed according to the event. As a result, the screen 30 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed again.
[0033]
Similarly, when the live image b is clicked, an event corresponding thereto is generated, and the live image b is displayed on the screen 32 with the same content as the live image b and a larger display size than the live image b as shown in FIG. B is displayed on almost the entire screen, for example. The live video B is distributed from the live video distribution server 14b. The client 28 sequentially reproduces the live video B while receiving it. Thereafter, for example, when the live video B is clicked, an event corresponding thereto is generated, and the screen 30 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed again.
[0034]
When the button 40 is clicked, an event corresponding thereto is generated, and as shown in FIG. 4C, the screen 33 is displayed on the screen 33 with contents different from those of the live images a and b. A large live video C is displayed on, for example, almost the entire screen. The live video C is distributed from the live video distribution server 14c. The client 28 sequentially reproduces the live video C while receiving it. Thereafter, for example, when the live video C is clicked, an event corresponding thereto is generated, and the screen 30 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed again.
[0035]
Other examples using events generated by the operation of the timer will be described. For example, assume that an event B occurs 10 minutes after the timer starts, an event A occurs 1 minute after the event B, and an event B occurs 10 minutes after the event A. In this usage mode, when the live video A is played back for 10 minutes on the client 28 side, the event detection means of the client 28 detects the occurrence of the event B, and the live video B (for example, a commercial message (CM) or the like) is displayed. Is done. Thereafter, when the live video B is reproduced for one minute, the event detection means of the client 28 detects the occurrence of the event A, and the live video A is displayed. Further, when the live video A is reproduced for 10 minutes, the event detection means of the client 28 detects the occurrence of the event B, and the live video B is displayed.
In addition, a list of videos and still images of a plurality of products is displayed on the initial screen, and when a video or the like of a product is clicked, a video or detailed information of the product with a large display size is displayed. There is also.
[0036]
As described above, in the present embodiment, all content information that may be displayed and reproduced on the client 28 side is distributed to the client 28 from the distribution side. Further, screen layout information including additional information describing how to change the display content on the client 28 side in response to the occurrence of the event is distributed to the client 28. On the client 28 side, it is not necessary to display and reproduce all the received content information, and the required content information is appropriately selected and displayed and reproduced based on a screen layout that can be switched in response to the occurrence of an event. ing. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even if the content information is distributed by multicast, the content being distributed based on an event that has occurred in a specific client without affecting the screen display of another client. It is possible to change the information display layout or switch the content information being reproduced to content information distributed from another server.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, even if a client receives the same information distributed by multicast, a content distribution method capable of switching display layout and display content by interactive operation on the client side, A content distribution system can be realized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a content distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data flow between each server and a client in the content distribution method according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display displayed on a client 28 in the content distribution method according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display displayed on a client 28 in the content distribution method according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Communication Network 10 Media Management Server 12 Live Audio Distribution Server 14, 14a-14c Live Video Distribution Server 16 Audio Distribution Server 18 Video Distribution Server 20 Still Image Distribution Server 22 Text Information Distribution Server 24 Microphone 26 Camera 28 Clients 30, 31, 32 , 33 screen 40 buttons

Claims (8)

The distributing side includes first instruction information for instructing electronic information to be received via the network, and second instruction information for instructing a change in display content in accordance with a screen display configuration and an event occurring on the client side. Send,
A content distribution method, wherein a client side receives the electronic information and the second instruction information based on the first instruction information, and changes the screen display in response to the occurrence of the event. The content distribution method according to claim 1,
The content distribution method, wherein the event is an event based on an operation of an input device or an event based on an operation of a timer. The content distribution method according to claim 2,
The content distribution method, wherein the input device is a keyboard or a mouse. The content distribution method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A content distribution method, wherein the electronic information is distributed by multicast. Delivery that transmits first instruction information for instructing electronic information to be received via a network and second instruction information for instructing a change in display content according to an event occurring on the client side and a screen display configuration. Side and
A content distribution system comprising: a client that receives the electronic information and the second instruction information based on the first instruction information and changes the screen display in response to the occurrence of the event. The content distribution system according to claim 5,
The content distribution system, wherein the event is an event based on an operation of an input device or an event based on an operation of a timer. The content distribution system according to claim 6,
The content distribution system, wherein the input device is a keyboard or a mouse. The content distribution system according to any one of claims 5 to 7,
The content distribution system, wherein the electronic information is distributed by multicast.

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