JP2005110310A - Stream delivery method, delivery system, and management server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stream delivery method which allows a stream media provider to deliver a streaming without working for metafile creation or MIME setting. <P>SOLUTION: In a stream delivery method for a stream delivery system inter-connecting a streaming server, a Web server storing a Web page which has an embedded request message that requests a delivery of a stream content in the stream server, and a metafile management server through a communication network, the metafile management server has a process to receive a delivery request message for the stream content in the Web page, a process to extract an URL information of the stream content from the message to generate the metafile, a process to generate a MIME type information of the stream content from its file type, and a process to create a response message containing the metafile and MIME type information and respond it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method, a distribution system, and a management server for streaming media contents such as video and audio, and more particularly, to a stream distribution method, a distribution system, and a management server capable of easily publishing stream contents on the web. .

  Recently, streaming distribution has become widespread as a viewing method for news, movies, music, advertisements, live broadcasts, etc. on the Internet. Streaming distribution is a technology that simultaneously plays back while downloading media content uploaded to a server on the Internet or an intranet.

  Conventionally, in order to view media content, it has been necessary to receive all data once and then play it back. However, viewing on a low speed line such as a telephone line has been difficult. By using streaming distribution technology, media content can be played in real time even on low-speed lines. Furthermore, recent high-performance personal computers and the development of high-speed communication networks such as optical communication, ADSL, and wired cables have made it possible to receive high-definition and large-capacity content in real time, which has spurred the spread of streaming distribution. It is over. Examples of streaming distribution technologies include Windows Media technology from Microsoft, RealAudio and RealVideo from Real Networks, and QuickTime from Apple. Hereinafter, media content to be streamed is referred to as stream content.

  As the distribution of streaming content on the Internet becomes more active, end users who are not familiar with the Internet and personal computers are increasingly demanding to stream their own works such as videos, music, and audio over the network.

  Normally, when streaming media content, it is desirable to use a server specialized for streaming delivery instead of a WEB server in order to efficiently deliver a large amount of content data to a large number of viewers. In particular, operations such as live streaming of recorded video can only be performed by a streaming server. Such a dedicated server is particularly called a streaming server.

  Conventionally, in order to distribute the stream content created by the user on the Internet, an indirect link method is used in which a link is made via a metafile instead of a direct link from the WEB page to the streaming server 30. ing.

A metafile is a type of media-related text file that describes the URL (Uniform Resource Locator, which may be plural) of stream content on the streaming server, playback information of the stream content, etc. in text format. It is a thing. FIG. 4 shows the most general description example of the metafile. The metafile forms the basis of the flow of delivering the URL of the stream content to the browser or the media player, and causing the media player to access the streaming server according to the URL. At the same time, MIME (Multipurpose) written in the character string in the format of “type name / subtype name” is displayed on the media player.
Internet Mail Extension) type information is also passed and stream content is played back smoothly.

  In addition to the URL to the stream content and the playback information of the stream content, the metafile contains additional information such as content titles displayed on the media player screen, text characters such as author, copyright, summary, burner image, hyperlink, etc. Can also be described.

  The metafile transfer and linking method will be described below. The stream content provider creates a metafile by adding a metafile extension to source code (for example, FIG. 4) obtained by editing the URL of the stream content with a text editor. The extension must be properly used as shown in FIG. 3 depending on the MIME type of the stream content.

  Upload this metafile to the web server where the MIME type information is set. The WEB server in which the MIME type information is set recognizes the metafile as a media-related file by the metafile extension even if the metafile is a text file. Thus, the WEB server stores metafiles of various stream contents such as video and audio, and accepts content distribution requests from viewers.

  When the viewer accesses the web page from the browser and follows the link of the stream content, the metafile is actually returned together with the MIME information.

  The browser on the viewer's local PC delivers the received MIME information and the URL in the metafile to the media player. Here, there are two types of conventional methods in which the WEB server delivers the MIME type information to the media player through the browser. One is a method in which the browser itself on the local PC identifies the extension such as .asx added to the media-related file and passes it to the media player (mainly used in Internet Explorer).

  The other is a method in which the browser on the local PC receives MIME type information in the http header received from the WEB server and passes it to the media player (used by Netscape, Fire Fox, etc.) Have been). In the latter method, the setting for the web server to recognize the text file as a metafile, that is, the MIME type setting in the web server is essential.

  In the local PC, an appropriate media player is activated based on the extension of the transmitted metafile. The media player accesses the URL on the streaming server and makes a stream content distribution request.

The streaming server receives the stream content delivery request from the media player, and sends the stream content to the viewer's media player in the rtsp (Real Time
Streaming Protocol), mms (Microsoft Media Server) protocol, http (Hypertext Transfer)
Protocol). The media player streams the received media content.

  As described above, a person who wants to distribute stream content must upload the stream content to the streaming server and also upload a metafile containing indirect links to the WEB server. In doing so, we face the following two problems.

  One problem is that the concept of indirect links is difficult for stream content providers to understand. In addition, stream content providers are usually programmers, even creators of video, music, video, etc., so it is technically difficult to create metafiles. Metafile extensions depending on the type of content It is difficult to upload the created metafile to the web server, and the metafile is uploaded to the streaming server instead of the web server that should be uploaded.

  If the metafile cannot be created, and the settings are incorrect, the browser cannot pass various information to the player. As a result, the browser displays the metafile as a text file on the screen, or the MIME type information cannot be passed to the media player, so that the stream content cannot be recognized / reproduced.

  Another problem is related to the MIME type setting of the web server. The web server also needs to be set to MIME to recognize the metafile as a kind of media-related file. However, not all media files are MIME-configured on the web server. For non-mainstream and new format media files, MIME is often not set. The MIME setting of the WEB server requires administrator-level technology and authority to rewrite the MIME information setting file (.htaccess), which is a very difficult task for beginners.

If MIME type information is not preset on the web server, it will not be displayed correctly on the browser side even if the media file is uploaded to the web server. For example, instead of starting the media player and playing the content, a message for downloading a media file (security warning) is displayed on the browser. Or, the browser misidentifies the metafile as a text file and plain
Receive the text (text format) and display the metafile contents in the browser. Eventually, the browser completes transmission / reception without passing the MIME type information and the address to the streaming server to the media player.

  In this way, even if a stream content provider has useful stream content, it takes time to create a metafile, upload it, and even MIME settings on the web server, and give up without successfully distributing the stream content created by itself. Often end up with.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method by which a stream content provider can easily stream and distribute the stream content.

  As a result of earnestly examining the above problems, the present inventor can solve the above problems by newly installing a metafile management server having a function of automatically generating a metafile and setting MIME as a second WEB server. I found.

That is, in the present invention, a streaming server, a web server storing a web page in which a request message for requesting delivery of stream contents in the stream server is stored, and a metafile management server are connected to each other via a communication network. In a stream delivery method for a stream delivery system,
The metafile management server receives a stream content delivery request message of the WEB page, extracts a stream content URL information from the message, generates a metafile, and determines the stream content file type from the stream content file type. The stream distribution method includes a process of generating MIME type information, and a process of creating and returning a response message including the metafile and MIME type information.

The present invention also provides a stream in which a streaming server, a WEB server storing a WEB page in which a request message for requesting delivery of stream contents in the stream server is embedded, and a metafile management server are connected to each other via a communication network. In the distribution system,
The metafile management server includes a means for receiving a stream content delivery request message of the WEB page, a means for generating a metafile by extracting URL information of the stream content from the message, and a file type of the stream content. The stream distribution system further comprises means for generating MIME type information, and means for creating and returning a response message including the metafile and MIME type information.

  The present invention also provides a streaming server and a stream distribution metafile management server interconnected with a communication network and a web server storing a web page in which a request message for requesting distribution of stream contents in the stream server is embedded. Means for receiving a stream content delivery request message of the WEB page, means for generating a metafile by extracting URL information of the stream content from the message, and MIME type information from the file type of the stream content. The present invention relates to the metafile management server, comprising: means for generating; and means for creating and returning a response message including the metafile and MIME type information.

  According to the stream delivery method, delivery system, and management server of the present invention, the media content provider only has to link the request message to the metafile management server for stream delivery. There is no need to create a metafile and set the metafile MIME.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an embodiment of a stream distribution system of the present invention.

  1 of FIG. 1 is a stream distribution system according to the present invention, which includes a WEB server 10, a metafile management server 20, and a streaming server 30. The servers 10, 20, and 30 are the Internet, a packet communication network, a dedicated line, and a LAN. Can communicate with each other via the communication network 2. The servers 10, 20, and 30 are usually formed of independent hardware, but two or more types may be configured in the same hardware. In the distribution system 1, the local PC 40 of the stream content provider and the local PC 50 of the stream content viewer are connected to the communication network 2. Hereinafter, each server and the local PC will be described.

  The WEB server 10 is a computer that transmits information in the WWW system, or software having an information transmission function via the WWW (for example, Apache or IIS of Microsoft). Like the general-purpose computer, the computer includes devices such as a central processing unit (CPU), a main memory (RAM), an input / output device (I / O), a hard disk, a CD, a DVD, and other external storage devices 11. The The WEB server 10 is usually operated and managed by an Internet service provider or an individual.

  The WEB server 10 accumulates content information such as HTML documents, XML documents, images, and FLASH data, and transmits these content information via the communication network 2 in response to a distribution request from client software such as the browser 51. Play a role. The WEB server 10 stores a WEB page 41 managed by the stream content provider in the external storage device 11 in association with the present invention.

A request message for streaming media delivery is embedded in the WEB page 41 using a markup language. The request message is, for example, the following three elements:
(1) URL of the metafile management server,
(2) The file name of the script that executes the metafile generation means and the MIME information delivery means, and (3) the storage location of the stream content on the streaming server. The stream content (3) may be one type or a combination of two or more types.

  In the request message, in addition to the above three elements, information described in the conventional metafile, for example, text displayed on the media player screen (property information such as content title, creator, copyright, summary, etc.), burner image And additional information such as hyperlinks may be included.

  The above three elements and other information are embedded in the WEB page 41 using the GET or POST method FORM.

  The request message is preferably a GET method query string as shown in FIG. In this way, the stream content provider can perform stream delivery simply by embedding a single request message in the WEB page 41.

  The request message in FIG. 5 (1) after accessing the URL of the metafile management server 20, (2) activates a metafile generation and MIME information addition script (axp.php in FIG. 5), and (3) goes to the script. This means passing the media content address as data (variable).

  The metafile management server 20 is composed of the same device as the WEB server 10 but is functionally a core part of the present invention that is not present in the conventional system. That is, the metafile management server 20 includes a metafile automatic generation unit 21, a MIME information delivery unit 22, and a MIME information storage unit 23.

  The metafile automatic generation unit 21 has a function of receiving a request message transmitted from the viewer local PC 50 via http (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and generating a metafile. That is, the stream delivery request message (FIG. 5) from the browser 51 is received, the stream content address (3) therein is extracted, and a metafile is generated. As shown in FIG. 6, the metafile is a text file created in an XML format or the like, and is created by embedding an address to the streaming server 30 between the header and the footer.

  The MIME information delivery unit 22 analyzes the file type from the extracted media content and calls the MIME type information corresponding to the file type from the MIME type information storage unit 23. In the example of FIG. 5, “video / x-ms-wmv” is called as MIME type information of the wmv file.

  If the MIME type information corresponding to the file type does not exist in the MIME type information storage means 23, the metafile management server 20 refers to the MIME information table distributed on the Internet as appropriate, and determines the MIME type from there. You may have a means to acquire information and to preserve | save in the MIME type information storage means 23. FIG.

  In this way, the MIME information delivery unit 22 generates a response message (FIG. 7) in which content-type: MIME type information is added to the header portion and the metafile is stored in the data portion.

The metafile automatic generation unit 21 and the MIME information delivery unit 22 may be described in one script (asx.php in FIG. 5). In FIG. 5, PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) format is used, but CGI (Common Gateway Interface), SSI (Server
Side Include), Java Servlet, JSP (Java Server Pages), ASP (Active Server Pages) script format.

  The metafile management server 20 also has means for sending the above response message to the browser 51 of the local PC 50.

  The streaming server 30 is a conventionally known server that performs streaming distribution of video and audio, and is not particularly limited as long as it has a function of simultaneously streaming stream contents to a large number of clients. The streaming server is set up and managed by an Internet service provider, a provider that rents a part of the server capacity (so-called rental server), or an individual. The external storage device 31 of the streaming server 30 stores stream contents 42 for various uses uploaded from the provider local PC 40.

  The provider local PC 40 may be a general-purpose personal computer that can create, process, or hold the stream content 42. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client software is installed in the local PC 40 so that the WEB page 41 and the stream content 42 can be uploaded to the servers 10 and 30, respectively.

  The viewer local PC 50 is a general personal computer, portable terminal, PDA, or the like owned by each user. A browser 51 is mounted on the local PC 50 so that each of the servers 10, 20, 30 can be accessed via the communication network 2. In addition, at least one type of media player (for example, windows media player, real player, QuickTime) is mounted so that the stream content 42 distributed from the streaming server 30 can be played back.

  The stream distribution method of the present invention will be described using the flow sheet of FIG. In the method of the present invention, first, the provider uploads the stream content 42 such as a moving image, sound, music, announcement, clip, etc. to be published to the streaming server 30 using FTP client software or a browser (S100).

  The stream content provider describes a request message to the metafile management server 30 in the web page (HTML document etc.) 41 managed by the stream content provider according to the specification of FIG. Note that at least the management server URL and the file name of the link automatic generation and MIME type information delivery script are notified in advance to the stream content provider from the administrator of the metafile management server 20. The created WEB page 41 is uploaded to the WEB server 10 using FTP client software (S101).

  The viewer of the stream content accesses the WEB server 10 from the viewer local PC 50 via the communication network 2 such as the Internet, and further browses the WEB page managed by the stream content provider (S103). Furthermore, a predetermined request message is transmitted by clicking a link permitting distribution of stream contents (S104).

  The metafile management server 20 receives a request message (FIG. 5) from the viewer, the link automatic generation unit 21 analyzes the message, and the meta in which the URL to the streaming server 30 as shown in FIG. 6 is embedded. A file is generated (S105).

  Next, the MIME type information delivery unit 22 analyzes the stream content in the distribution request and calls the MIME type from the MIME type information storage unit 23 or creates a new MIME type and automatically adds the MIME type to the metafile. (S106). The response message created in this way is sent to the viewer's local PC 50 via http (S107).

  The browser 51 of the viewer local PC 50 that has received the response message activates an appropriate media player 52 based on the MIME type information in the header information of the response message (S108). The stream content URL described in the metafile is also delivered to the media player 52. The media player 52 recognizes and confirms the stream content based on the received information, and accesses the designated streaming server URL (S109).

  In response to the distribution request from the media player 52, the streaming server 30 distributes stream contents such as moving images, sounds, and music to the media player 52 using an appropriate protocol (S110).

  The media player 52 performs streaming playback of the distributed stream content (S111).

  The stream distribution method of the present invention has been described above using the embodiment, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Any change or modification is within the scope of the present invention without departing from the technical idea of the present invention as defined in the claims. Examples include authentication processing using a password and ID when the viewer local PC accesses the metafile management server, adding a firewall function to the streaming server, and adding charging processing for streaming distribution.

  According to the present invention, the conventional meta-file creation and MIME setting operations that have been complicated for the stream content provider are eliminated, and stream distribution of moving images, audio, music, advertisements, and the like becomes extremely easy. Therefore, the utilization and spread of stream distribution technology can be further expected.

1 shows a schematic block diagram of a stream distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. The processing flow of the system of FIG. 1 is shown. A list of conventional metafile extensions according to MIME type information is shown. Here is an example of a metafile description that has been created. 5 is a description example of a request message embedded in a WEB page in the distribution method of the present invention. 5 is a description example of a metafile created by an automatic metafile generation unit in the distribution method of the present invention. 5 is a description example of a response message returned to a browser in the distribution method of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the conventional stream delivery system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Stream delivery system 2 Communication network 10 WEB server 11 External storage device 20 Metafile management server 21 Metafile automatic generation part 22 MIME information delivery part 23 MIME information storage means 30 Streaming server 31 External storage device 40 Provider local PC
43 Conventional Metafile 41 Web Page 42 Stream Content 50 Viewer Local PC
51 Browser 52 Media Player

Claims (9)

Targeting a stream distribution system in which a streaming server, a WEB server storing a WEB page in which a request message for requesting distribution of stream contents in the stream server is embedded, and a metafile management server are connected to each other via a communication network In the stream delivery method to
The metafile management server receives a stream content delivery request message of the WEB page, extracts a stream content URL information from the message, generates a metafile, and determines the stream content file type from the stream content file type. The stream delivery method comprising: processing for generating MIME type information; and processing for creating and returning a response message including the metafile and MIME type information.   The stream content delivery request message includes (1) the URL of the metafile management server, (2) the file name of the script that executes the metafile generating unit and the MIME information adding unit, and (3) storing the stream content on the streaming server. The stream delivery method according to claim 1, further comprising a location.   The stream delivery method according to claim 2, wherein the stream content delivery request message is a query string. In a stream delivery system in which a streaming server, a WEB server storing a WEB page in which a request message for requesting delivery of stream content in the stream server is embedded, and a metafile management server are connected to each other via a communication network,
The metafile management server includes a means for receiving a stream content delivery request message of the WEB page, a means for generating a metafile by extracting URL information of the stream content from the message, and a file type of the stream content. The stream distribution system comprising: means for generating MIME type information; and means for creating and returning a response message including the metafile and MIME type information.   The stream content delivery request message includes (1) the URL of the metafile management server, (2) the file name of the script that executes the metafile generating unit and the MIME information adding unit, and (3) storing the stream content on the streaming server. The stream delivery system according to claim 4, wherein the stream delivery system includes a place.   The stream distribution system according to claim 5, wherein the stream content distribution request message is a query string.   A stream delivery metafile management server interconnected by a communication network with a streaming server and a web server storing a web page in which a request message for requesting delivery of stream content in the stream server is embedded, Means for receiving a stream content delivery request message of a page; means for generating URL information of stream content from the message to generate a metafile; means for generating MIME type information from the file type of the stream content; The metafile management server comprising means for creating and returning a response message including the metafile and MIME type information.   The stream content delivery request message includes (1) the URL of the metafile management server, (2) the file name of the script that executes the metafile generating unit and the MIME information adding unit, and (3) storing the stream content on the streaming server. The metafile management server according to claim 7, further comprising a location. 9. The metafile management server according to claim 8, wherein the stream content delivery request message is a query string.

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