KR0174400B1 - On-demand video and integrated cable broadcasting service processing system and method using broadband integrated information communication network - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for simultaneously providing subscriber-on-demand video, integrated cable broadcasting, and broadband information communication (data) services to a subscriber using a broadband general information communication network, unlike a general information communication (mainly data) service. In order to provide a system and method for providing a service through a video router that is a network resource, connection and disconnection of a service is performed through an ATM switch 5, and transmission of video traffic is performed by the video router 6 in the ATM switch 5. In the system configured to perform through the method and the method applied to the system, if the video desired by the subscriber exists in the video buffer 4, the video service is provided directly to the subscriber, and if the video is not stored in the video buffer 4, the stored video A first step 201 to 215 of searching for a service and providing a service through the video router 6; A second step (216 to 212) for determining a new popularity rank if there is a change in popularity rank; And a third step (301 to 305) of allocating a new channel or copying and allocating a new channel to a subscriber after searching for a service channel, thereby providing efficient on-demand and economical services. .

Description

On-demand video and integrated cable broadcasting service processing system and method using broadband integrated information communication network

1 is an exemplary configuration diagram of an on-demand video and integrated wired broadcasting service processing system using a broadband integrated information communication network according to the present invention.

2 is an embodiment processing flow diagram for an on-demand video service according to the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a comprehensive cable broadcasting service according to the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating a detailed video router connection structure of FIG.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1: subscriber terminal 2: network terminator

3: video distribution device 4: video buffer

5: ATM exchanger 6: video router

7: video server 8: headend

9: Video Repository 10: Cable Broadcasting Station

11: information provider

The present invention provides a subscriber on demand video (VOD: Video On Demand), integrated cable broadcasting (CATV) and broadband information communication (data) using a broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN) A system and method for simultaneously providing a service.

On-demand video and cable broadcasting services have high-speed, broadband traffic characteristics and long-term occupancy of exchange resources. In particular, since comprehensive cable broadcasting broadcasts all channels available to the cable broadcasting system, the system for processing them requires large-scale exchange resources with extremely high throughput.

Accordingly, the present invention processes the on-demand video service through a separate network resource (named video router in the present invention), unlike a general information communication (mainly data) service, and a channel requested by a subscriber for a comprehensive wired broadcasting service. It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for providing a service using network resources (broadband terminator, video distribution device, video router and ATM switch) of a broadband general information network only in real time.

In order to achieve the above object, the apparatus of the present invention is a system for processing video-on-demand and comprehensive wired broadcasting service in a broadband integrated information communication network having a plurality of broadband network termination devices connected to a plurality of subscriber stations, respectively. A plurality of video distribution means to which the plurality of broadband network termination devices are connected; A plurality of video buffer means which are provided in the plurality of video distribution means, respectively, and store popular video programs; Signals for establishing a virtual path (VP) / virtual channel (VC) to be connected to the plurality of video distribution means and to receive video information on demand from the subscriber station or video broadcasting service. A plurality of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) exchange means for performing a procedure; Connected to the plurality of video distribution means, and when a connection of a video service is established by the plurality of ATM switching means, a function of distributing a video program and a cable broadcasting channel to subscribers through an assigned virtual path / virtual channel is performed. Video routing means; Information providing means for retrieving video and providing video information to the video routing means according to the request of the plurality of ATM switching means, wherein connection and disconnection of the on-demand video and wired broadcasting service is performed through the ATM switching means. And transmitting the video traffic through the virtual path / virtual channel assigned by the ATM switching unit to the video routing unit. In addition, the method of the present invention for achieving the above object, the subscriber network has a plurality of network terminating devices, each of which is connected to a plurality of subscriber terminals, the access network has a plurality of video distribution means and a video program of the highest ranking A method for processing video-on-demand services in a system having a plurality of video buffer means for storing the data, the service network having ATM switching means, video routing means, and information providing means, wherein the video is viewed from the subscriber terminal. A first step of receiving a request; A second step of searching for the existence of the video requested by the subscriber by searching the video stored in the video buffer means after updating the video management table; A third step of receiving the video requested by the subscriber from the information providing means at the ATM exchange means and transmitting the video to the subscriber if the video requested by the subscriber does not exist in the video buffer means after performing the second step; ; A fourth step of searching for the requested video and transmitting the requested video to the subscriber if the video requested by the subscriber exists in the video buffer means after performing the second step; And a fifth step of periodically determining whether the popularity rank is changed and storing the updated popular video in the video buffer means.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a subscriber network with a plurality of network termination devices, each of which is connected to a plurality of subscriber terminals, the access network stores a plurality of video distribution means and video programs of the highest ranking. A method for processing a comprehensive wired broadcasting service in a system having a plurality of video buffer means for providing a service network, wherein the service network includes an ATM switching means, a video routing means, and an information providing means. A first step of receiving a broadcast viewing request; A second step of searching for a service channel and examining whether the same channel as the channel for which a new viewing is requested is currently in service to another subscriber; A third step of establishing a connection to a new channel if there is no same channel as a newly requested channel among the channels currently providing the service after performing the second step; After performing the second step, if the same channel is in service, a fourth step of copying the channel and providing the newly requested subscriber.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment according to the present invention;

In the present invention, a feature of the processing process for the video-on-demand service is that the subscriber distributes the video distribution device by installing a device (named video distribution device in the present invention) capable of storing a video program of high popularity in the access network of the broadband integrated information communication network. In case of requesting the video present in the network, the video distribution device provides the service to the subscriber directly without processing other network resources (ATM switch, video server, etc.), thereby promoting the efficient use of the network resource.

In addition, unlike the conventional processing method of broadcasting all channels available in the cable broadcasting station, the integrated cable broadcasting service provides network resources (broadband terminator, video) of the broadband integrated information communication network in real time only for the channel requested by the subscriber. Transmission capacity of a link belonging to a User Network Interface (UNI) of a Broadband Telecommunication Network required to provide a cable broadcasting service by providing a service using a distribution device, a video router, and an ATM switch. Zoom out.

1 is an exemplary configuration diagram of a broadband integrated telecommunication network according to the present invention, in which a broadband integrated telecommunication network is divided into a subscriber network, an access network, and a service network and is concentrated or distributed based on broadband switching and transmission technology. These services can be combined to provide a variety of services with a wide bandwidth distribution.

In the subscriber network of the broadband information communication network, the subscriber terminal 1 is connected to a broadband network termination device (B-NT) 2 and the video distribution device 3 for distributing video to the access network. There is a video buffer (4) which is connected to the video distribution device and can store a video program belonging to the top ranking. In the service network, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switch 5, a video router 6 and an information provider 11 ) Is installed. The information provider 11 has a video server 7, a video repository 9, a headend 8 and a comprehensive cable broadcasting station 10.

The ATM switch receives a video on demand video and cable broadcasting service from the subscriber, and provides a video distribution apparatus (3) with a signal procedure for establishing a virtual path (VP) / virtual channel (VC) to which video information is transmitted. Performed by the information provider 11.

The video router 6 performs a function of distributing to the subscriber the video program and the wired broadcasting channel retrieved from the information provider 11 through the virtual path / virtual channel assigned by the ATM switch 5 when establishing the connection of the video service. . That is, the ATM exchanger 5 performs the function of connecting and releasing the service and the actual video traffic is provided to the subscriber through the video router 6 when performing the on-demand video and wire broadcasting service. We plan to use.

2 is a flow chart of a video on demand service according to the present invention, and provides a video on demand service in a video distribution apparatus 3 located in an access network of a broadband integrated information communication network.

When the video distribution device 3 receives a viewing request for a specific video program from the subscriber terminal 1 through the broadband network termination device 2 (201), the video distribution device 3 records the video popularity in a table managing the popularity (202). In addition, the information recorded in the management table is made available in the process of periodically determining the popularity of the video.

Then, the video stored in the video buffer 4 is searched (203) to check whether or not the video desired by the subscriber is present (204). If the video requested by the subscriber is not present in the video buffer 4, the ATM switch 5 requests retrieval of the video stored in the video server 7 of the information provider 11 (205), and the reception for the video is received. Wait (206).

Receiving the video requested by the subscriber from the information provider 11 via the ATM switch 5 (207), the subscriber is notified of the completion of the video viewing connection (208) after the video is transmitted to the subscriber (209) and the video service ends. Notify 210 and terminate the execution of the session.

If the video requested by the subscriber exists in the video buffer 4, the subscriber is notified of the existence of the video (211), and then the video stored in the video buffer (4) is searched (212). Transmit to the subscriber (214). When the video transmission to the specific subscriber is completed, the subscriber is notified of such a situation (215), and the performance of the session is terminated.

In addition, when the video distribution device 3 receives the end of the timer by driving the popularity determination timer (216), the video distribution apparatus 3 determines the popularity ranking of the receiving subscribers' video viewing at regular intervals by examining the popularity ranking management table (217). . After determining the popularity ranking, the variation of the popularity ranking is investigated (218).

If there is a ranking change, the ATM switch exchanges the search for the newly selected popular video to replace the video with the lowest popularity among the videos that are not stored in the video buffer 4 with the most recently popular video. Request (information provider) 5 (219) and wait for reception on a popular video (220).

When the popular video is received from the information provider 11 through the ATM switch 5 (221), the received popular video is stored in the video buffer 4 (222) and the execution of the corresponding session is terminated.

In addition, the performance of the ATM switch 5 and the information provider 11 in addition to the video distribution apparatus 3 to provide the video service on demand is as follows.

When the ATM switch 5 receives a video retrieval request from the video distribution apparatus 3, it requests the video server 7 of the information provider 11 to search for the video and notifies the subscriber if the video exists. do. The video server 7 transmits the video program to the video router 6 via the virtual path / virtual channel allocated from the ATM switch 5 when the search for the video requested by the ATM switch 5 is successful. That is, in the present invention, when providing on-demand video service to a subscriber, control signals such as access and release of a subscriber's service request are processed through the ATM switch 5, and transmission of actual video information is performed by the ATM switch 5 when the service is connected. Is delivered to the subscriber through the video router 6 by the virtual path / virtual channel established by

3 is a flowchart of a comprehensive wired broadcasting service according to the present invention.

When the broadband end device (2), the video distribution device (3), the ATM switcher (5), and the head end (8) of the information provider (11) of the broadband telecommunication network receive a cable broadcasting request from a subscriber for a specific channel, In step 301, the service channel is searched (302) to determine whether the same channel as the channel for which a new viewing is requested is currently in service to another subscriber (303).

If there is no channel equal to the newly requested channel among the channels currently being provided, the network termination device 2 sends the video distribution device 3, the video distribution device 3 sends the ATM switch 5 to the ATM switcher. In the case of (5), the headend 8 of the information provider 11 requests a service for a new channel, establishes a connection (304), and terminates execution of the corresponding session.

If the same channel is already set, it is copied and provided to the newly requested subscriber (305), and the execution of the session is terminated. That is, the present invention can significantly reduce the transmission capacity of the link connecting each network resource in the integrated information communication network necessary to provide a comprehensive wired broadcasting service compared to the conventional broadcasting method.

4 is an exemplary video router detailed connection structure of FIG. 1. In the present embodiment, when the video router 6 receives video information from the information provider 11, the unidirectional switch performs a function of transmitting the video information to the subscriber. It is composed of).

The path for the video router 6 to provide the video traffic to the subscriber includes the subscriber station 1, the broadband network terminator 2, and the video distribution device, when the ATM switch 5 receives the subscriber's video and wire broadcasting service request. (3) It is based on a Virtual Path Identification Number (VPI) / Virtual Channel Identification Number (VCI) value set through a signal procedure between the information provider 11 and the information provider 11. That is, the present invention is to provide a video on demand and a comprehensive cable broadcasting service by installing a device dedicated to the function of distributing video to the service network of the broadband integrated information communication network.

As described above, the present invention provides on-demand video, integrated cable broadcasting, and information communication (data) service using a broadband integrated information communication network, and provides a subscriber from a video distribution device to a subscriber in a video distribution apparatus without going through other network resources. In addition to maximizing the efficiency of using network resources by providing direct services, comprehensive wired broadcasting services are not only broadcasting on all channels but also providing services only for the required subscriber channels, which significantly reduces the transmission capacity burden of links. It is effective to build an economical video processing system.

Claims (6)

A system for processing video-on-demand and comprehensive wired broadcasting services in a broadband telecommunication network having a plurality of broadband network termination devices each of which is connected to a plurality of subscriber stations, wherein the plurality of broadband network termination devices are connected. Video distribution means; A plurality of video buffer means which are provided in the plurality of video distribution means, respectively, and store popular video programs; Signals for establishing a virtual path (VP) / virtual channel (VC) to be connected to the plurality of video distribution means and to receive video information on demand from the subscriber station or video broadcasting service. A plurality of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) exchange means for performing a procedure; Connected to the plurality of video distribution means, and when a connection of a video service is established by the plurality of ATM switching means, a function of distributing a video program and a cable broadcasting channel to subscribers through an assigned virtual path / virtual channel is performed. Video routing means; Information providing means for retrieving video and providing video information to the video routing means according to the request of the plurality of ATM switching means, wherein connection and disconnection of the on-demand video and comprehensive cable broadcasting service is performed through the ATM switching means. And the transmission of video traffic is performed through a virtual path / virtual channel assigned by the ATM switching unit to the video routing unit. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the video routing means comprises a one-way switch that provides the subscriber with the video information received from the information providing means. The virtual path / virtual channel of claim 1, wherein the virtual path / virtual channel is allocated through a signaling procedure between the subscriber station, the broadband network terminating device, the video distribution means, the video routing means, and the information providing means. On-demand video and comprehensive wired broadcasting service processing system. The subscriber network includes a plurality of network termination apparatuses, each of which is connected to a plurality of subscriber stations, and the access network includes a plurality of video distribution means and a plurality of video buffer means for storing video programs of higher ranking. A method for processing an on-demand video service in a system having ATM switching means, video routing means and information providing means, the network comprising: a first step of receiving a video viewing request from the subscriber station; A second step of retrieving the presence of a video requested by a subscriber by retrieving a video stored in the video buffer means after updating a video management table; A third step of receiving the video requested by the subscriber from the information providing means at the ATM exchange means and transmitting the video to the subscriber if the video requested by the subscriber does not exist in the video buffer means after performing the second step; ; A fourth step of searching for and transmitting the requested video to the subscriber if the video requested by the subscriber exists in the video buffer means after performing the second step; And a fifth step of periodically determining whether or not the popularity rank is changed and storing the updated popular video in the video buffer means. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the fifth step comprises: a sixth step of determining whether or not the popularity ranking of the subscribers is changed by viewing the popularity management table at predetermined time intervals using a popularity determination timer; And after performing the sixth step, if there is no ranking change, ends the session, and if there is a ranking change, search for a newly selected video to replace the existing and nonexistent video buffer means according to the popularity ranking. And a seventh step of requesting and receiving the information providing means through the ATM switching means, storing the information in the video buffer means, and terminating the execution of the corresponding session. The subscriber network includes a plurality of network termination apparatuses, each of which is connected to a plurality of subscriber terminals, and the access network includes a plurality of video distribution means and a plurality of video buffer means for storing video programs of higher ranking. A method for processing a comprehensive cable broadcasting service in a system having an ATM switching means, a video routing means and an information providing means, the method comprising: a first step of receiving a cable broadcasting viewing request for a specific channel from a subscriber; A second step of searching for a service channel and examining whether the same channel as the channel for which a new viewing is requested is currently in service to another subscriber; A third step of establishing a connection to a new channel if there is no same channel as a newly requested channel among the channels currently providing the service after performing the second step; After performing the second step, the same channel is in service, and a comprehensive wired broadcasting service processing method using a broadband integrated telecommunications network comprising a fourth step of copying the channel and providing the newly requested subscriber.