JPH10164554A - Server, client, control method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide video service, matched with a service request level for each user by storing service request level information from a client and transferring the video data of quality corresponding to the request level. SOLUTION: When a connection request is received from a viewer, a server control part 111 performs registration to a service level management table 119, a band management table 114 and a charging management table 116. Since the service level information is also included in the packet of the connection request, it is stored in the service level management table 119. When a camera server is connected, the respective viewers receive the video service, corresponding to the service level at the time of connection and are charged corresponding to the service level. The higher the service level, the more increased is the number of frames to be transferred per unit time, that is, the transfer interval of video images captured in a capture part 112 is made small, and the video service as moving images which approximates reproduction can be received.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a server and a client, a control method and a storage medium, and more particularly to a server and a client for transferring video data, a control method and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a system for broadcasting real-time data such as moving images and voices through a communication line such as the Internet has appeared. These are CAs charged only for the time you see them
It can be used like a TV, and is expected to replace TV broadcasting.

[0003] Further, in these systems, there are systems that can control a camera located in a remote place by making use of the bidirectionality of a communication line.

[0004]

However, in these systems, if many users try to control a camera at the same time even if they try to control a camera in a remote place, there is a case where control rights are contested. .

[0005] Further, due to the capacity of the communication line, etc., it is not always possible to provide the highest quality video or the like to all, and in some cases, the user must view dirty images despite being charged the same. there were.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an object to set a service request level for each user and to provide a video service corresponding to the service request level. It is an object of the present invention to provide a server and a client, a control method, and a storage medium that make it possible.

In order to solve this problem, for example, the server of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the remote 1
A server that transfers video to the client in accordance with requests from a plurality of clients, and a storage unit that stores service request level information from a connected client; and Transfer control means for transferring video data of each quality to the other clients.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an overall view of this embodiment. This system includes a camera server 100 provided on a network (for example, the Internet) and a plurality of viewers 200, 3
.., 400,. The video captured by the camera server 100 is delivered to viewers 200, 300, 400,... In addition, the camera of the camera server 100 currently being referred to by any one of the viewers 200, 300, 400,... Can be remotely controlled. That is, one viewer has the camera control right of the camera server 100.

The viewer 200 is a specific OS on an information processing device such as a personal computer or a workstation.
Software that runs on An example of the view window displayed on the display screen by the viewer 200 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the video taken by the camera server 100 is displayed in the video view 201. At the right and lower ends of the video view 201, scroll bars indicating the positions of the pan angle and the tilt angle of the captured video are displayed. By looking at the positions of the squares in the bars, the camera of the camera server can be displayed. It is possible to know which position in the movable range of the pan angle and the tilt angle is being viewed.

When the user connects to the camera server, the camera designation box 2 on the screen of the viewer 200 is displayed.
02: Camera server identifier (address) you want to view video
Control key 2 with a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown).
At 03, a service level (this will be described later) is set. Then, the connection button 204 is clicked with the pointing device. As a result, the viewer 200 communicates with the camera server 10 via the network.
0, or after confirming a password or the like, connect (log in), and display the video transferred from the camera server 100 in the video view 201. When the user clicks the camera control request button 207, the user can obtain the control right (pan right, tilt angle, and zoom operation right) of the camera 120 of the camera server for a time corresponding to the user level. However, as described above, since the control right is given to only one client, it is not given if another user already has the control right at that time. However, if the user has the control right for a long time, the other user is inconvenienced. After an appropriate time (for example, 30 seconds) elapses, the camera server deprives the control right from the viewer having the control right and the other user ( Release control to the client).

The camera 120 is controlled by operating a camera control button 206. The camera control buttons 206 include a button for controlling the camera's swing (pan angle) in the left and right directions, a button for controlling the swing (tilt angle) in the vertical direction, and a zoom-in (“in” button shown in the figure). , Enlargement) and zoom-out (“out” button shown in the figure, meaning reduction = wide-angle) are provided. Here, a meter indicating the current degree of zoom is displayed between the in button and the out button. However, this control button is also displayed on the screen of the user who does not have the control right, but the operation is ignored. However, the video view 20
In 1, an image at an angle (pan angle, tilt angle, and zoom value) controlled by another user can be viewed.

FIG. 3 shows functional blocks of the viewer 200. The viewer 200 includes a network management unit 210, a video display unit 220, a connection management unit 230, and a viewer camera control unit 240.

The network management unit 210 is a viewer
Processing of sorting packets sent from the camera server to the video display unit 220 and the camera control unit,
A process of sending information sent from the connection management unit 230 or the viewer camera control unit 240 as a packet to the network (connection destination camera server) is performed.

More specifically, in addition to video data, information regarding camera control is transferred from the camera server by packet. The video data is passed to the video display unit 220 for display in the video view, and the control information is transmitted to the viewer camera control unit 240.
Passed to. The viewer camera control unit 240 receives this information, and notifies the user by appropriately changing the positions of the rectangular portions of the scroll bar at the right end and the bottom end of the video view 201 and the degree of zoom between the in button and the out button. Squeezed.

On the other hand, the video display unit 220 interprets the video packet received from the network management unit 210 (performs only decompression processing because it is compression-encoded), and
The image data is developed on the AM to display a video.

When the user clicks the connection button 204, the connection management unit 230 sends a connection request packet containing information indicating the service level specified by the service control bar 203 to the camera server 100 specified by the camera specification box 202. , Through the network management unit 210.

Also, When the camera control request button 207 is clicked, the viewer camera control unit 240 sends a camera control request to the camera designation box 20.
Send to the camera server 100 specified in 2. When the camera server 100 receives the request and transmits a notification to give the control right, the viewer camera control unit 240 responds to the operation of the camera control button 206 while the control line is established. A camera control packet (including a pan angle, a tilt angle, and a zoom value) is sent to the camera server 100.

With the above configuration, the viewer 200 acquires an image from the camera server 100 and
00 video camera 120 is controlled.

Next, the camera server 100 will be described. The camera server 100 includes an information processing device 110 such as a personal computer having a video capture mechanism (in most cases, it can be realized by mounting a capture board in an empty slot), and the information processing device 1.
10 comprises a video camera 120 which can be controlled. The video camera 120 is an information processing device 110
It is mounted on a pan head that can zoom in / out and change the angle up / down / left / right according to instructions from. The video signal input from the video camera 120 is taken into the information processing device 110 by the capture unit.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the camera server 100.
Shown in The program functioning as the camera server 100 includes a server control unit 111, a video capture unit 112,
Video delivery unit 113, bandwidth management table 114, charging management unit 11
5, a billing management table 116, a server camera control unit 117, a timer 118, and a service level management table 119.

First, the camera server 100 connects the viewer 20
The procedure for accepting 0 will be described with reference to FIG.

When any request is received from the viewer 200, the process proceeds from step S1 to step S2. Step S
If it is determined in step S2 that the request is a connection request, the process proceeds to step S3, in which the server control unit 111 stores the viewer 200 (actually, the network address of the viewer, or the IP address in the case of the Internet) in the service level management table 119, It is registered in the management table 114 and the charging management table 116. As described above, since the connection request packet also includes the service level information, it is stored in the service level management table 119. The structure of the service level management table is, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, and stores the service level for each viewer (client). Also, information indicating which viewer currently has the control right of the camera is added. Other tables will be described later.

On the other hand, if a disconnection request is received, the process proceeds from step S4 to steps S5 and S6, where the item of the target viewer is deleted from these tables, and the billing information is stored in the storage device.

When the viewer is connected to the camera server as described above, each viewer can receive a video service according to the service level at the time of connection, and is charged according to the service level. The description will be more easily understood as follows.

When the viewer is connected to the camera server,
The server registers the service level set by the viewer at the connection source in the service level management table. Here, the higher the service level is, the more the number of frames to be transferred per unit time is increased. That is, when a connection is made with a high service level set, it is possible to receive a video service that is close to reproduction as a moving image.
On the other hand, if a low service level is set, the number of transfer frames per unit time will decrease, and although the response will be low for watching as a moving image, the charging rate will be low, so if the same fee is charged, you can watch video for a long time. It becomes possible.

A video delivery process in the camera server according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that increasing the number of transfer frames per unit time as the service level is higher means reducing the transfer interval of the video captured by the capture unit 112. Conversely, the lower the service level, the smaller the number of transfer frames per unit time, which means that the time interval between frames becomes longer. Also, here, the description is given on the assumption that the capture interval is constant.

In this embodiment, in order to make the transfer interval different according to the service level, an interval is set in advance.
(Service level) function is prepared (of course, it may be composed of a table). That is, the higher the service level of this interval (), the smaller the return value.

That is, they have a relationship of interval (1)> interval (2)> interval (3)>...> Interval (maximum service level).

Referring to FIG. 8, in step S11, a notification from the video capture section 112 that capture has been completed is awaited.

When captured, the process proceeds to step S12, and the variable i facilitated for each viewer (client) is incremented by "1".

Then, the process proceeds to a step S13, wherein the variable i
Compare interval (service level).

If it is determined that the variable i <interval (service level), it is determined that the transfer time for the viewer has not been reached, and the process proceeds to step S11.
Return to

As a result, the lower the service level of the viewer, the greater the number of loops in steps S1 to S3.
Conversely, a viewer with a high service level originally has a small value of interval (service level), so that the determination in step S3 is determined to be a variable i ≧ interval (service level) with a relatively small loop.

In this state, the process proceeds to step S4, in which the variable i is cleared to zero, a process of transferring the captured video to the viewer in step S15 is performed, and a bandwidth management table (see FIG. 7) is determined in step S16. The processing of incrementing the bandwidth usage of the corresponding viewer in the parentheses) is performed.

As a result, the captured video data can be transferred at substantially constant intervals (the time interval depends on each service level). In addition, the higher the service level of the viewer, the shorter the time interval of the transfer, and as a result, the number of transfer frames per unit time can be increased. Conversely, although the transfer interval increases as the viewer has a lower service level, the time interval for updating the bandwidth management table increases, and the rate of increase in the number of frames to be charged can be reduced. That is, the quality of service can be changed according to the service level.

Next, a charging control procedure will be described.

As described above, the bandwidth management table (FIG. 7)
In, the number of transfer frames for each connected viewer is updated each time a frame is transferred.

Therefore, it is sufficient to periodically read this bandwidth management table and update the accounting management table (FIG. 10) of the managed viewer according to the value. However, when the bandwidth management table is read, the values in the bandwidth management table are cleared to zero. Even if the value is cleared to zero, there is no problem because the increment is simply performed in step S16 of FIG. 8 described above. In other words, if the value has been cleared to zero, only the increment process is performed again from the beginning in step S16.

The charging control procedure will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When there is an interrupt from the timer 118 (for example, an interrupt at one minute intervals), this processing is performed. First, in step S21, the number of past transfer frames of each viewer managed in the bandwidth management table is read. At the same time, in step S22, the number of transfer frames for each viewer in the bandwidth management table is cleared.

Then, the process proceeds to step S23, and the addition amount = charge (service level, number of frames) is calculated for each viewer to calculate the addition amount of the charge.

Then, the process proceeds to a step S24, and the added amount of each viewer is added to the previous value in the charge management table.

Although the contents of the charge () function are not specifically described here, the number of frames may be simply used as an argument. However, if the service level is small, it will be relatively difficult to watch as a smooth video,
Since it contributes to the reduction of the line congestion, the service level is provided for the argument as described above so that the charge is made lower than the simple number of frames.

Next, the procedure for managing the camera control right is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

When there is a camera control right request from the viewer,
The process advances from step S31 to step S32 to determine whether another viewer has already acquired the control right. This determination is made based on whether or not there is a control right column in the control right column in the service level management table of FIG.

If it is determined that the camera control right has been released, the process proceeds to step S33, in which the corresponding column in the service level management table is turned ON in order to give the control right to the requesting viewer. And notifies the viewer of the acquisition of the camera control right.

Next, the process proceeds to step S34, in which a control time corresponding to the service level of the viewer to which the camera control right is newly given is obtained by a function max_time (service level), and an interrupt is generated when the time has elapsed. Set to. In other words, the higher the service level, the longer the control right is given.

FIG. 12 shows an interrupt process when the time set as described above has elapsed.

When an interrupt occurs, first, in step S4
In step S4, the viewer having the control right is notified that the camera control right has been lost in step S4.
In step 2, the part where the control right is turned on in the service level management table is cleared, and the control right is released.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a camera control processing procedure in the camera server in the embodiment.

First, in step S51, reception of a camera control packet from the viewer is waited. When this packet is received, the process proceeds to step S52, where the transfer source ID (address) in the packet is checked to determine whether the packet is from a viewer having camera control authority.
If it is determined that the received packet is from a viewer having the camera control right, the camera is controlled according to the angle information (pan angle, tilt angle or zoom value) described in the packet, and the process returns to step S51.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present embodiment, the camera server 100 can perform quality services such as changing the transmission capacity of the transmission image and the acquisition time of the camera control right according to the service level. And charging can be performed according to the quality of the service.

In the above embodiment, the number of transfer frames per unit time is controlled in accordance with the service level. However, in some cases, the image quality of one frame may be changed. For example, the resolution may be different depending on the service level.

Finally, the contents of operation processing on the viewer, that is, on the camera client side will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, when activation of the viewer program is instructed on the personal computer on the client side,
In step S1, the viewer window shown in FIG. 2 is displayed. In step S62, the ID (address) of the camera server to be connected is input, and the service level is set.
When the connection button is clicked, step S6 is performed.
Proceeding to 3, the connection request including the service level is transferred to the set camera server, and the video receiving / display task is started in step S64.

Thereafter, processing corresponding to clicks of various buttons shown in the figure is performed.

For example, when the disconnection button is clicked, disconnection from the camera server is performed, and this processing ends.

If the camera control button is clicked, the flow advances from step S66 to step S67 to transfer the control right acquisition request to the connection destination camera server. As a result, it waits for a notification from the camera server as to whether or not the control right has been acquired. If a notification that the control right has been successfully acquired is received, that fact is stored (step S69).

When the camera control right is obtained in this way, it is allowed to proceed from step S70 to step S71, and the camera control operation is performed in step S71.
The control information according to the operation content is transferred to the camera server (step S72).

As a result, the camera server controls the angle of the camera in accordance with the designated control information, and transfers the captured video.

FIG. 15 shows the processing contents of the video reception and display task started in step S64.

First, when data is received from the camera server, the process proceeds from step S81 to step S82, and it is determined whether or not the received data is a notification of no camera control right. If a notification indicating that there is no control right is received, the process proceeds to step S83, and the control right is stored. As a result, steps S70 to S71 in FIG.
You will not be able to proceed.

If it is determined that there is no control right, it is determined that the received data is a packet including video data, and the flow advances to step S84 to check the control information (photographed) included in the packet. The pan angle, the tilt angle, and the zoom value of the video are extracted. Then, in accordance with the control information, the position of the rectangular portion of the scroll bar shown in FIG. 2 updates the degree of zoom (step S85).

Thereafter, the video data transferred subsequently is expanded (step S86), and the expanded video is displayed at a position corresponding to the video view 201.

The service request level in the present embodiment includes various types, which are different from those exclusively for controlling the camera. For example, even when a user has exclusive control of a camera, the higher the service level of a user,
It allows you to control it freely.

For example, as described in the embodiment, the time during which the control right can be held is changed. Alternatively, control is given to the user having the highest service level (it cannot be used for other users during that time). Alternatively, the time during which the control right can be held is the same for all users, but the higher the service level, the more frequently the user can obtain the control right. Alternatively, if the direction in which the camera points is determined by taking a majority decision of the control requests of all the members, the opinion of the user with a higher service level has more voting rights than other users.

As for the quality and image quality of video, a user with a higher service level is allowed to use a band. For example, the number of frames per second is changed as described in the embodiment. Further, the number of pixels, the number of colors, and the compression method may be changed.

Although the above-described embodiment has a hardware element for connecting a camera to a normal personal computer or a workstation in the case of a camera server, for example, the present embodiment uses such hardware. It can be realized by a running application. Also, the client of the camera server has hardware (for example, a network card such as a modem or TA, and in some cases, an Ethernet or the like) for network connection, and has a program corresponding to the processing shown in FIGS. Can be realized.

Accordingly, the present invention supplies a storage medium storing software program codes to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads out the program codes stored in the storage medium to read the program codes. It goes without saying that it can also be achieved by executing.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS and the like running on the computer are actually executed based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the above-described processing is performed, and the functions of the embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in an extended function board inserted into the computer or a function extension unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0075]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to set a service request level for each user and provide a video service corresponding to the service request level.

[0076]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an entire system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a viewer screen on a client side in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a configuration on a client side in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of a camera server according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of a service level management table managed by the camera server.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation process at the time of a connection / disconnection request in the camera server.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of a band management table managed by the camera server.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the contents of a video transfer process in the camera server.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the contents of a billing process in the camera server.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the contents of a charging management table managed by the camera server.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a camera control right management process in the camera server.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the contents of a camera control right invalidation process.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing camera control processing contents.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation processing procedure of a client-side viewer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the contents of data reception processing on the client side.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 camera server 110 camera server control personal computer 111 server control unit 112 capture unit 113 video delivery unit 114 bandwidth management table 115 charging management unit 116 charging management table 117 server camera control unit 118 timer 119 service level management table 120 remote controllable video Camera 200, 300, 400 Terminal (viewer)

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A server for transferring an image to a remote client in accordance with a request from one or a plurality of remote clients, comprising: storage means for storing service request level information from a connected client; A server for providing a video service according to the service request level stored for the client. 2. The server according to claim 1, wherein an image pickup means is connected to the server, and the transfer control means transfers the video taken by the image pickup means. 3. The server according to claim 1, wherein:
Time according to the service request level of the client,
3. The server according to claim 2, further comprising a unit for giving an operation right to the image pickup unit. 4. The server according to claim 1, wherein the service provided by said providing means is the number of video transfer frames per unit time. 5. The server according to claim 1, further comprising charging means for charging each client in accordance with the service request level and the number of transfer frames for each connected client. 6. A method of controlling a server for transferring a video image to a remote client in accordance with a request from one or more remote clients, wherein service request level information from a connected client is stored in a predetermined storage means. A server control method, comprising: a storage step of storing; and a providing step of providing a video service according to a service request level stored for each client. 7. The server control according to claim 6, wherein an imaging unit is connected to the server, and the transfer control step causes the image captured by the imaging unit to be transferred. Method. 8. The server control according to claim 7, further comprising a step of giving a predetermined client an operation right to said image pickup means for a time corresponding to a service request level of said client. Method. 9. The server control method according to claim 6, wherein the service provided in the providing step is the number of video transfer frames per unit time. 10. The server according to claim 6, further comprising a charging step of charging each client according to the service request level and the number of transfer frames for each connected client. Control method. 11. A storage medium storing a program for functioning as a server for transferring an image to a remote client in accordance with a request from one or more remote clients, the service request level information from a connected client. And a storage medium storing a program functioning as providing means for providing a video service according to the service request level stored for each client according to the stored service request level. 12. A client for transferring video data from a remote server, a notifying means for notifying the server of a service request level, and a video service based on the service request level notified by the notifying means. And a receiving means for receiving the client. 13. The client according to claim 12, further comprising display control means for sequentially displaying the contents of the received video service. 14. A method for controlling a client to receive video data from a remote server, comprising: a notification step of notifying a service request level to the server; and a service request level notified in the notification step. And receiving a video service based on the video service. 15. A storage medium storing a program for functioning as a client for transferring video data from a remote server, comprising: a notifying unit for notifying a service request level to the server; A storage medium storing a program that functions as a receiving unit that receives a video service based on the notified service request level.