JP2006135811A - Network-type video delivery system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a distributed network-type video delivery system which can avoid system down. <P>SOLUTION: The system comprises a data management server 1 for managing licenses, contents, node management, and copyright protection information; a host data server 2 for holding all of the contents to be delivered; a plurality of slave servers 3 that make the lines distributed by installing the plurality, accumulate highly frequent contents fed from the host server, and deliver thereof in accordance with the capacity of respective lines; a cache server 5 for mitigating the traffic by relaying the delivery of the temporarily accumulated contents; an area server 4 that is installed in each facility and provides contents utilized only in each area; and a number of receivers 7 each of which is used by a user who executes the procedure for user authentication, confirms reproduction scheme by acquiring control information for accessing the contents, acquires node management information to access the area server, cache server, and slave server, and acquires and reproduces the contents. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a network-type video distribution system that operates as a distributed distribution system that allows users to download, acquire, and view video content from various servers and users via the Internet.

Conventionally, moving image data is stored in a video server and sent to a client via a communication network such as a LAN, a CATV network, or the Internet in response to a client request. The client passes through a receiving device such as an STB (set top box). VOD (Video on Demand) that receives and plays the video with a playback player that performs decoding processing based on data compression codes such as MPEG2 and copyright protection regulations, and allows the user to see the video wherever they want to see There is a video distribution system called.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a conventional proxy for a video-on-demand system via the Internet. The proxy (proxy) server 100 includes a network transmission / reception unit 101, a proxy controller 102, a cache management unit 103, and an account management unit 104. The video server 111 and the client 112 are connected via the Internet 110. The network transmission / reception unit 101 receives a login request transmitted from the client 112 to the server 111 and passes it to the proxy controller 102. The processing result is transmitted to the server 111.

  In addition, the processing result transmitted from the server 111 to the client 112 is received and transferred to the proxy controller 102, and the processing result is transmitted to the client 112. The proxy controller 102 analyzes the request and processing result received by the network transmission / reception unit 101, performs account and cache processing, and stores VOD data stored in the large-capacity cache 105 from the cache. The flow of VOD data between the server 111 and the client 112 is optimized by relaying or the like. The account management unit 104 relays the login request sent from the client 112 to the server 111 and leaves the processing progress in the account table 106 in the account management unit 104. The cache management unit 103 stores the VOD data sent from the server 111 in the large capacity cache 105. The processing progress remains in the cache table 107 in the cache management unit 103. The cache table 107 is used when the cache management unit 103 determines which part of the VOD data is cached. In addition, jump, fast forward, reverse playback, pause, and other stream operation requests can be made from the client 112 to the server 111 by the interactive service function (see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, as a recent VOD system via the Internet, a VOD service “4th MEDIA” (trade name), which aims to expand customers of its own broadband such as B FLET'S and FLET'S ADSL by NTT, etc. has been developed. The “4th MEDIA” VOD service requires customers to purchase a “4th MEDIA” compatible broadband tuner (about several tens of thousands of yen) and collects a subscription fee of about 5000 yen and a monthly viewing fee of about 2500 to 600 yen. VOD data is distributed by a streaming method.

JP 2001-69485 A

However, since the above conventional example is a VOD system that performs streaming distribution by the conventional client / server method, if the video server goes down due to access concentration or failure, the entire system becomes inoperable and there is a risk of causing the system to go down. There was a problem.
In addition, there is a problem in that broadband is required because it is a streaming system that reproduces and views in real time while receiving VOD data from a video server.

  Therefore, the present invention configures a distributed system in which a client and a server are shared among various other servers or clients by distributing and storing video contents on other servers even when the Bidao server is down. A VOD system that can be distributed while complying with the protection regulations, and that can avoid the system down that occurs in the case of the conventional client / server system, and that constitutes a distributed system even with communication lines and communication devices that are not special broadband compatible It is an object of the present invention to provide a network type video distribution system capable of searching, downloading and viewing desired video contents from servers or clients.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, VOD (video on demand) data is stored in a video server and sent to a client via a communication network such as the Internet in response to a client request. In the VOD system that decodes and plays back video data, it manages license information, content information, content server information including node management information, copyright protection rules, copyright protection information such as registration / authentication, accounting, etc. A data management server that manages user viewing management, a host data server that holds all of the content to be distributed and is registered in the data management server and managed by the VOD content distributor, and a plurality of distribution servers for communication networks. To distribute the line, and according to the capacity of each set communication line Traffic of the communication network by relaying and delivering the temporarily stored content without going to the host data server and slave server, and a slave server that mainly accumulates and distributes frequently-used content from the host data server A cache server that reduces the load, a regional server that is installed in each facility such as a condominium, a hotel, a local government, etc. Communicate with the data management server, perform user authentication procedures by registration, acquire content access control information, confirm playback such as decoding, acquire content server information including node management information, the regional server, cache server , And access to slave servers to acquire content It is characterized by having a large number of receiving devices used by the user to perform live.
In addition, the license information held by the data management server according to claim 2 includes all copyright protection information of VOD data.
Further, the content server information held by the data management server according to claim 3 includes a copyright protection rule based on registration information for the host data server, slave server, cache server, regional server, and each receiving device. It is characterized by including node management information managed as a node of the distributed network while complying.
In addition, the slave server according to claim 4 performs direct distribution if content is held in the slave server when a request from a user or a request is generated from the cache server, otherwise In response to the slave server, relay distribution is performed if the content is present, and received and distributed from the host data server if the content is not present.
In addition, when the receiving apparatus according to claim 5 performs distributed access to a plurality of servers to obtain content, and there is a faulty server, the access control information obtained from the data management server It is characterized in that the server acquires a content by selecting a normally operating server based on the above.
Further, the receiving apparatus according to claim 6 is a server / client-distributed distribution in which a node list is created by adding a receiving apparatus existing in the vicinity to the node management information, and a file is shared among the receiving apparatuses. It is characterized by acquiring a content by building a system and searching each other's files.
The receiving device according to claim 7 is capable of acquiring content from two or more servers or receiving devices, and creates a single file by organizing and editing a plurality of files of the same genre. It is characterized by that.

According to the present invention, the video content is not distributed from the video server to all clients as in the conventional client / server method, but between the relay server group and the receiving device while complying with the copyright protection regulations. Since it is distributed by a distributed method that enables file access, even if one server goes down halfway, the system automatically eliminates the failed server and distributes content from other normal servers, It is possible to avoid the situation where distribution is not possible due to a server down due to failure or access concentration, and normal distribution can be continued.
In addition, as a distributed system, file access between a large number of servers and receiving devices is possible, and since this is a download method service that is not a streaming method, video content can be easily viewed on a communication line or a communication device that is not a special broadband method.
It is also possible to access files held by multiple servers and receiving devices, organize and edit them into a single file, etc., and the degree of freedom of content processing level compared to the interactive service using the conventional client / server method Highly interactive service can be developed.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a network type video distribution system in the present embodiment.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a data management server (administrator's jurisdiction), which is divided and managed by a user management server and a node management server. Content information information ID, address information of each business operator, registration of users (receiving devices) Management of authentication information for user authentication based on (address assignment), host node information based on each server registration, and the like, for example, DRM (Digital Rights Management) as shown in FIG. Accept access of each node and manage the system. Reference numeral 2 denotes a host data server, which is a library that stores all actual data of content, and is sent from the content library in response to a distribution request from the slave server. The host data server 2 registers the server ID with the data management server 1 and starts the distribution work.

  A slave server 3 is installed as a plurality of slave servers for distributing the network load, and is connected to the Internet trunk network 6 via a dedicated line and operates as an Internet distribution server. Upon receiving a distribution request from a user, the content is a slave server. If it exists in 3, it is delivered directly, and if it does not exist, it is confirmed with the slave servers, and the user is guided to the existing slave server 3 or relayed. The slave server 3 caches high-frequency content, and protects the small request content from erasure from the cache by concentrating on specific content by the minimum guaranteed slot. Reference numeral 4 denotes a regional server, which is an information server in a region installed in the same facility such as a condominium or a hotel or in the same region such as a local government. What is a WAN installed in the same network connection area? It is an independent server and distributes exclusive content within the region. The regional server 4 mainly distributes unique content closely related to the region. In addition, although the capacity is lower than that of the cache server, the same distributed processing is also performed.

  5 is a cache server, which is installed on the provider side between the user and the Internet to reduce WAN traffic. If the content is already viewed by someone on the user's request, the cache server 5, the content is directly distributed from the cache server 5 without receiving the content from the Internet trunk network 6 or the slave server 3. When there is no content, the data is relayed from the slave server 3 and the cache accumulation process is performed while distributing. This reduces the load on the Internet trunk network 6 and stabilizes communication. Reference numeral 7 denotes a receiving device, which is connected to the cache server 5 connected to the Internet 6 by the WAN 8 via a modem / router and includes a decoder function based on a compression code such as MPEG2 / MPEG4 and DivX and a copyright protection rule. A content playback TV device having a box STB (a content reception device including a browser function, a distributed software processing function, and other PC functions), and this user system performs user registration in the data management server 1, The user ID and the address of the receiving device are acquired and the authentication procedure is performed. At the same time, the data management server 1 recognizes the user receiving device 7 as a node of the distributed system and performs node management. As a result, when the system operates, the user acquires node initial information from the data management server 1, creates a node between neighboring users, intelligently constructs a unique node list, and uses it as a node between users. When the user wants to acquire content, first, the content ID is searched upstream from the neighboring receiving device node to the cache server 5, and first, the content is acquired from the closer node. If the cache server 5 does not exist, the slave server 3 is accessed and acquired.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a reception sequence of the reception apparatus illustrated in FIG.
Referring to FIG. 2, first, when the user receiving device 7a wants to download video content, the user receiving device 7a makes a request to the data management server 1, and the data management server 1 performs user authentication based on the registered content and sends information, and the content ID Node information is acquired (step S100). In this distributed system, the relay server such as a cache server and the user's receiving device are configured as the same cache server and are also used as a client / server, so the node information in the accessible server list obtained from the data management server 1 By adding the address of the receiving device 7, a node list is created and held so that each receiving device can transmit and receive both as a client and a server. These distributed programs are based on the file sharing (exchange) method “PtoP” and the like, and this system has developed and realized a new system that can completely comply with the copyright protection regulations.

Next, the receiving device 7a confirms whether it can be acquired based on the content ID in the server order of the priority order close to itself in the created node list. In addition, content is mutually used between neighboring receiving apparatuses. In this way, shuffling is performed in order of closeness so as not to concentrate access to some servers, and queries are made to a plurality of nodes.
Specifically, it is confirmed whether the content is held in the receiving device 7b (S101). If there is no content in the receiving device 7b, the presence is confirmed in the receiving device 7c. If the content has been stored in the receiving device 7c, the content is received from the receiving device 7c (S102). If it is not found in the receiving device 7c, the presence or absence is confirmed in the cache servers 5a to 5c (S103). When there is no content accumulation like the cache servers 5a and 5c shown in FIG. 2, relay distribution is performed from the upper slave server 3 (S104). When content is stored as in the cache server 5b, it is directly delivered as it is (S105).
When there is no content like the cache servers 5a and 5c, the slave servers 3a and 3c are accessed and relayed and distributed (S106). In this case, the slave server 3b is not accessed because there is an accumulation in the cache server 5b (S107). Further, since the content exists in the slave server 3a, the host data server 2 is not accessed this time (S108).
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a communication procedure of the reception sequence shown in FIG. 2, and shows the communication procedure in a time series only for the communication between the receiving device 7a and each server described in FIG. It is a figure.

Next, the access process will be described with reference to a flowchart of access processing from the receiving apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3A shows the case of first time content access. Initially, there is no storage in the relay server and the content exists only in the host data server 2, so when a distribution request is issued from the receiving device 7, the content is hosted. The data is transmitted from the data server 2 and stored and distributed to the slave server 3. (Or relay distribution to the receiving device 7 while accumulating in the cache server 5).
FIG. 3B shows a case where a request for the same content is generated as the second access following the first access. This time, content is stored in the slave server 3 and the slave server 3 (relayed from the cache server 5). Since the content is distributed, the load on the host data server 2 is reduced, and it is possible to concentrate on new processing or content processing not held by the slave server 3.

Next, FIG. 3C shows a case where a request 2 is subsequently generated for the same content. If the same content exists in the cache server 5 this time, the content is directly distributed from the cache server 5.
FIG. 3D shows an example in which the content transfer process is performed between the receiving devices when the request 3 is generated for the same content and the neighboring receiving device 7c is checked and the same content exists. .

  In this way, the slave and cache server group linked with the host data server 2 is constructed, and the mutual files can be downloaded by the cooperation of the clients. Therefore, as the load is distributed and popular content is viewed, Access to the original host data server 2 is reduced, and the more users who view the content on the cache server 5 and the provider network, and the more requests the content is stored / distributed on more servers. In addition, content can be acquired from a server close to you, reducing the load on the host server and the Internet trunk network, and avoiding system down.

Most conventional VOD systems are MPEG2 and MPEG4 only, and the bit rate is fixed. However, the present invention can support a wide range of contents formats and data bit rates, and also supports high definition image quality such as high definition. can do.
Further, if a cache server and slave servers are simply added, further load distribution can be easily obtained.
In addition, it is possible to construct a scalable network system by constructing node information between the receiving devices and exchanging between the receiving devices, and the receiver itself also performing distributed processing by computer processing. In addition to video, music, images, It can be extended to the area of computer processing services such as games and online shopping.

It is a block diagram of the network type video delivery system in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the receiving sequence of the receiver shown in FIG. It is a flowchart of the access process of the receiver shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a communication procedure of a reception sequence illustrated in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows the example of copyright protection of the system shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the proxy for the conventional video on demand systems via the internet.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Data management server 2 Host data server 3 Slave server 4 Regional server 5 Cache server 6 Internet trunk network 7 Receiving device 8 Provider provided communication network (regional WAN)

Claims (7)

In a VOD system that stores VOD (video on demand) data in a video server, sends it to a client via a communication network such as the Internet in response to a client request, and decodes and plays back video data on the client side.
A data management server that manages license protection information such as license information, content information, content server information including node management information, implementation of copyright protection rules, registration / authentication, and accounting;
A host data server that holds all the content to be distributed, registers with the data management server and is managed by the VOD content distributor;
A slave server that distributes lines by installing a plurality of distributions to a communication network, accumulates and distributes mainly high-frequency content from the host data server according to the capacity of each set communication line, and
A cache server that reduces traffic on the communication network by relaying and delivering the temporarily stored content without going to the host data server and the slave server;
A regional server that is installed in each facility such as a condominium, a hotel, a local government, etc., and that prepares content to be used only inside each facility in order to reduce the load on access inside each facility,
Communicating with the data management server, performing user authentication procedures by registration, obtaining content access control information, performing playback confirmation such as decoding, obtaining content server information including node management information, obtaining the regional server, cache A network-type video distribution system comprising: a server; and a number of receiving devices used by a user who accesses a slave server to acquire and play back content.   2. The network type video distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the license information held by the data management server includes all copyright protection information of VOD data.   The content server information held by the data management server includes the host data server, slave server, cache server, regional server, and each receiving device in a distributed network while complying with copyright protection regulations based on registration information. The network type video distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising node management information managed as a node.   When a request from a user or a request is generated from the cache server, the slave server performs direct distribution if the content is held in the slave server, and inquires another slave server if the content does not exist. 2. The network type video distribution system according to claim 1, wherein relay distribution is performed if there is, and distribution is received from the host data server if there is not.   When there is a faulty server when distributed access is made to a plurality of servers to obtain content, the receiving apparatus is operating normally based on the access control information obtained from the data management server. 2. The network type video distribution system according to claim 1, wherein content is acquired by selecting a server.   The receiving device adds a receiving device existing in the neighborhood to the node management information to create a node list, and constructs a distributed system for both server / client sharing files among the receiving devices, and holds each other's files The network type video distribution system according to claim 1 or 3, wherein content is acquired by searching for.   The content of the receiving device can be acquired from two or more servers or receiving devices, and a single file is created by organizing and editing a plurality of files of the same genre. The network type video distribution system described in 1.

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