KR100649727B1 - Method and device for serving multimedia data on demand by employing storing means of user device - Google Patents

Abstract

A device and a method for offering an MOD(Multimedia-On-Demand) service using a storing part of a subscriber device are provided to offer the MOD service without delay by responding to a user request, increase bandwidth efficiency, and obtain effects similar to an RVoD(Real Video-on-Demand) or TVoD(True Video-on-Demand) in a system offering an NVoD(Near Video-on-Demand) type service. A communicating module(250) receives multimedia data from a multimedia server individual transmitting the multimedia data in specific time intervals through multimedia channels. A storing module(210) stores starting data from the first time to the preset time among the received multimedia data or continuous data after the starting data among the multimedia data received according to a view request of the user. A controlling module(240) controls output of the starting or continuous data stored in the storing module by the display module according to the view request, and recognizes the channel transmitting the multimedia data just before the time of the view request among the channels to receive the continuous data.

Description

Method and device for serving multimedia data on demand by employing storing means of user device

1 is a schematic diagram of an on-demand multimedia system in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a time flow diagram of an on-demand video service according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a subscriber device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating a process of providing an on-demand video service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a process of providing an on-demand video service in a subscriber device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: multimedia server

110: communication network

200: subscriber device

210: storage module

220: buffer

230: display module

240: control module

250: communication module

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for multimedia data service, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for multimedia data-on-demand service using a storage means of a subscriber device.

On-demand video technology gives a subscriber one channel immediately upon request to watch a video, so that the subscriber always occupies and uses one channel, and RVoD (Real VoD) or TVoD (True VoD) schemes always use a specific video at regular intervals. It is divided into NVoD (Near VoD) method that broadcasts stream and multiple subscribers can watch one video through one channel.

The RVoD or TvoD method allocates one channel to a subscriber when a subscriber requests to watch a video. The allocated channel cannot be used by another subscriber until the subscriber finishes watching the video. Video is a collection of large-capacity data such as video and audio, and when viewing it through a communication network, a very large channel bandwidth is required, and a considerable cost is required to secure the bandwidth. Therefore, in order to accommodate a large number of viewers in the RVoD or TvoD method requires a tremendous bandwidth, there is a problem that the efficiency of bandwidth use is inferior.

NVoD can be used to increase the efficiency of bandwidth. Conventional NVoD systems broadcast video over individual channels at regular time intervals over one or more channels. Specifically, a typical NVoD system broadcasts each using one or more channels from the beginning to the end of the video data, and each channel starts transmission of the video data at regular time intervals. Thus, the NVoD method can accommodate more subscribers with the same channel bandwidth than TVoD, which is useful when broadcasting a popular video that many subscribers watch at the same time. However, it may take some time before the subscriber requests to watch the video and receives and watches the video data. That is, by transmitting the video data individually at regular intervals, the requested time may be different from the time when the new transmission starts, so the subscriber must wait until the transmission of the new video data starts. Therefore, the subscriber may not be able to watch a video immediately at a desired time, and may be inconvenient to wait for some time.

In NVoD, channel bandwidth is closely related to how long subscribers wait to watch video. Specifically, by increasing the channel bandwidth, i.e. the number of channels, the waiting time of the subscriber can be reduced. However, because channel bandwidth is a finite and expensive resource, it is necessary to increase the efficiency of channel bandwidth in order to service more video with the same number of channels.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a service and a device for on-demand multimedia data service which can provide a service without delay to a request of a viewer and can improve bandwidth efficiency.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an on-demand multimedia data service method and apparatus which can achieve a similar or identical effect to an RVoD or TvoD scheme in a system providing a NVoD scheme.

Other objects of the present invention will become more apparent through the preferred embodiments described below.

According to a first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, in the on-demand multimedia data service method in a subscriber device, from a multimedia server for transmitting multimedia data separately using a plurality of channels at a T interval, which is a predetermined time Receiving and storing starting data from the first of the multimedia data to M, which is a preset time; Initiating the output of the stored start data when a viewing request for the multimedia data is input; And receiving and storing the continuous data among the multimedia data transmitted in real time from the multimedia server for outputting the continuous data subsequent to the start data when the output of the start data is terminated. Is provided

Here, M may be equal to or greater than T.

The output portion of the continuous data may be deleted at the time when the output is completed or at a predetermined time interval, or may be stored until the end of the multimedia data, and may be deleted after all the output. In addition, the continuous data may be received from a channel where the multimedia data is started immediately before receiving the viewing request of the plurality of channels.

And, the step of receiving information on the T and the schedule for transmitting the multimedia data from the multimedia server may be preceded.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a multimedia data service method on demand in a subscriber device, a multimedia server for transmitting multimedia data separately using a plurality of channels at a T interval, which is a predetermined time, from the beginning of the multimedia data in advance. Receiving and storing start data up to M which is a set time; Receiving a viewing request for the multimedia data from a subscriber; Determining whether a difference between a time at which multimedia data is transmitted to a new channel and a time at which the viewing request is input is smaller than a preset waiting time; And when the determination result is small, the multimedia data transmitted through the new channel is received and output in real time; when the determination result is large, the output of the stored start data is started; In order to output the data, there is provided an on-demand multimedia data service method comprising the step of receiving and storing the continuous data of the multimedia data transmitted in real time from the multimedia server. Here, the waiting time may be T-M or more.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a multimedia server for transmitting on-demand multimedia data separately using a plurality of channels at a T interval, which is a predetermined time, a subscriber device pre-registers from the beginning of the multimedia data. There is provided an on-demand multimedia data service method for transmitting separate identification data to store start data up to M, which is a set time.

Here, the identification data may be transmitted together with the initial transmission of the multimedia data. The M may be equal to or greater than T.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a subscriber device for providing on-demand multimedia data service, comprising: communication for receiving specific multimedia data from a multimedia server that individually transmits multimedia data using a plurality of channels at a T interval, which is a predetermined time; module; Store start data from the beginning of the multimedia data received from the multimedia server to M, which is a preset time, or store continuous data after the start data of the multimedia data received in response to a subscriber's viewing request. module; And controlling the output by the display module of the start data and the continuous data stored in the storage module in accordance with the viewing request, and transmitting the channel immediately before the viewing requested time of the plurality of channels to receive the continuous data. Subscriber device comprising a control module for recognizing.

Here, the control module may delete the output portion of the continuous data from the storage module at the time when the output is completed or at a predetermined time interval, or after all of the continuous data is output. The storage module may store start data of all multimedia data transmitted from the multimedia server. The M may be equal to or greater than T.

Hereinafter, on-demand multimedia data service method and apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in the description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding components regardless of reference numerals The same reference numerals will be given, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an on-demand multimedia system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram of a time-based flow of an on-demand video service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Is a view showing the configuration of a subscriber device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an on-demand multimedia system includes a multimedia server 100, a communication network 110, and a subscriber device 200.

The multimedia server 100 transmits multimedia data in a NVoD (Near VoD) method. That is, the multimedia data is transmitted to each channel at a predetermined time interval (hereinafter, T) using a plurality of channels. For example, if n channels are allocated for the transmission of multimedia data, and the multimedia data is video data of m-minute running time, the multimedia data is spaced by T (i.e., m / n minutes) for each channel. Can be sent. That is, when video data having a 90-minute show time is transmitted for nine channels, by specifying T as 10 minutes, video data may be transmitted at intervals of 10 minutes to each channel.

The multimedia server 100 may extract the multimedia data from its own storage device (not shown) and transmit the multimedia data to the subscriber device 200 or receive the multimedia data from a multimedia provider (not shown) connected through a communication network or a dedicated line. It may also transmit to the subscriber device 200. The multimedia data is transmitted to the subscriber device 200 through the communication network 110. Herein, the communication network 110 may be a wired communication network, a wireless communication network, or a communication network in which both are mixed. In addition, as multimedia data, not only video data such as a moving picture, but also sound source data such as radio broadcast or MP3 may be used. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, video data will be described as an example. The same may be applied to the above description more clearly.

The subscriber device 200 receives the video data transmitted from the multimedia server 100 and performs a function of outputting the corresponding video data at the request of the subscriber (user). The subscriber device 200 according to the present invention does not immediately output video data transmitted from the multimedia server 100 in real time, but stores it in advance in a storage means and extracts and stores the stored video data.

The subscriber device 200 first receives and stores video data for a predetermined time period (hereinafter, M) in advance, and outputs the prestored video data according to the reception of the subscriber's video viewing request. The data after M is received and stored in real time from the multimedia data server, and the data after M is received and stored in real time when the output of previously stored video data is completed. Therefore, by using the multimedia server 100 that transmits the video data in the NVoD method, the video data can be output without delay in response to the user's video viewing request, such as using the RVoD or TVoD method.

Referring to FIG. 2, t1 is a time at which the multimedia server 100 starts transmitting video data using channel N, and t2 is a multimedia server 100 transmitting video data using channel N + 1. Time to start, t is the time when the subscriber requests to watch the video. T (ie, the difference between t2 and t1) is a transmission period of video data in the multimedia server 100.

Here, the subscriber device 200 previously receives and stores the first M data (hereinafter referred to as "starting data") of the video data transmitted from the multimedia server 100. Here, the start data is pre-stored in the subscriber device 200, and is a part of the video data that is extracted and output when a subscriber is requested to watch a video. In addition, M is preferably set to T or more, which is a video data transmission time interval in the multimedia server 100.

For example, when M and T are the same, the subscriber device 200 starts outputting prestored start data at time t, which is a time at which a video viewing request from a subscriber is input. In addition, data after t2 (hereinafter, referred to as "continuous data"), which is data after data (data such as start data) transmitted during t1 to t2 time in channel N, is received and stored from channel N. Subsequently, when the output of the start data having the size T (the size of video data transmitted during T) is completed, the subscriber device 200 continuously outputs the continuous data received and stored from the channel N. Here, the subscriber device 200 may store the continuous data without deleting all of the continuous data, but when the output is completed or a predetermined time interval (eg For example, it may be deleted every three seconds, and the newly received continuous data may be stored in the deleted space. In order to provide subscribers with a function such as "pause" while watching a video, all continuous data must be stored.

Here, when M is smaller than T, continuous data after the start data cannot be received from the multimedia server 100 through the channel N. That is, when M is smaller than t-t1, video data from the end of the start data to t of the data after M cannot be received from the channel N. Therefore, it is preferable to set M to T or more in order to prevent the disconnection between the start data and the continuous data.

In summary, the subscriber device 200 receives and stores start data from the multimedia server 100 in advance, and when a subscriber is requested to watch a video for video data corresponding to the start data, starts and outputs the stored start data. Continuous data, which is the data after the data, is received and stored in real time from the corresponding channel (channel N, which has started video data transmission just before the video viewing request), and is connected to the start data to output continuous data. Accordingly, by using the video data transmitted from the multimedia server 100 using the NVoD scheme, the subscriber device 200 may store video data (starting data and real-time reception) without delay in the subscriber's video viewing request such as the TvoD or RVoD scheme. Can be extracted and output. In addition, it can be easily understood through the above description that the continuous data can be received from the channel N + 1 when the video viewing request time of the subscriber is t 'in the same manner.

Here, in another embodiment, M may be set larger than T. If M is equal to T, the stored start data that may occur is not exactly the same size as M and smaller than that. Then, the start data and the continuous data may not be continued and may be interrupted. That is, the subscriber device 200 may set M to be larger than T with a slight margin so as to prevent video disconnection due to an incorrect setting and recognition error of M and T.

In another embodiment, an on-demand multimedia data service method for setting M to less than T may be provided. Typically, there may be more than one multimedia server 100, and since there may be a plurality of video data provided from one multimedia server 100, the start data stored in the subscriber device 200 may be large. Therefore, the start data can be set smaller than the T size in order to increase the efficiency of the storage means. Of course, when the video viewing request time t approaches t1, there may be a break between the start data and the continuous data, so it is preferable to set M to T or more. Hereinafter, an example of setting M equal to T will be described. However, in another embodiment, the subscriber device 200 sets the waiting time p in advance so that when the time for which the subscriber is requested to watch a video is within the waiting time. Instead of using the stored start data, the user can wait for some time and receive and output video data in real time through channel N + 1. Detailed description thereof will be described below with reference to related drawings.

Referring to FIG. 3, the subscriber device 200 includes a storage module 210, a buffer 220, a display module 230, a control module 240, and a communication module 250.

The storage module 210 is a device for storing multimedia data received from the multimedia server 100. According to the present invention, the subscriber device 200 stores start data, which is data corresponding to the first T time of video data transmitted from the multimedia server 100, in the storage module.

The start data stored in the storage module 210 is output by the display module 230 according to the subscriber's video viewing request. The buffer 220 is a device for temporarily storing corresponding data to output video data. The display module 230 outputs the video data stored in the storage module for the subscriber to watch. The display module 230 may be, for example, a PC (monitor and speaker), a TV, or the like.

In addition, the storage module 210 stores not only the start data among the multimedia data, but also continuous continuous data after the start data. Therefore, the storage module 210 requires a K * T length storage space for storing the start data when the K video data provided from the multimedia server 100 is K pieces, and the corresponding continuous data according to the subscriber's video viewing. Need more space for storage.

Accordingly, the subscriber device 200 outputs start data of the corresponding video according to a viewing request for a specific video of the subscriber, receives continuous data, which is the remaining video data, from the multimedia server 100 and stores it in the storage module 210. do. The stored continuous data is output in series with the start data. Here, of course, it is a matter of course that the start data and the continuous data may be stored physically or logically.

The control module 240 is a means for controlling the overall operation of the subscriber device 200. The control module 240 stores the start data (the first T time video data) among the multimedia data received from the multimedia server 100 in the storage module, and stores the start data stored in the storage module in response to a video viewing request from the subscriber. Output to the display module 230, and receives the continuous data of the corresponding video data from the video data transmission channel of the multimedia server 100 corresponding to the video viewing time requested to store in the storage module.

The communication module 250 is a means for interfacing with the communication network 110. Accordingly, the subscriber device 200 receives the video data from the multimedia server 100 through the communication network 110 using the communication module 250.

Here, the buffer 220 except for the display module 230, the storage module 210, the control module 240, the communication module 250, and the like may be implemented as one set-top box.

The subscriber device 200 preferably knows a transmission schedule of at least one video data transmitted from all the multimedia servers 100 in advance. In a typical NVoD scheme, when a subscriber requests transmission of a video in order to watch a particular video, the video channel that starts the video fastest based on the requested time (that is, the closest video channel to start a new video, hereinafter " N + 1 channel ", see FIG. 2). Thus, the subscriber must wait until the corresponding video data is transmitted on the N + 1 channel.

In contrast, according to the present invention, when the subscriber device 200 requests to watch a specific video, the subscriber device 200 transmits the channel which started the latest transmission based on the requested time (that is, the channel started just before the request, hereinafter referred to as "N channel"). ", See FIG. 2). That is, in response to the subscriber's video viewing request, the prestored start data is output. The continuous data is received and stored from the N channel, and the stored continuous data is continuously output after all the start data are output. Accordingly, it is preferable that the subscriber device 200 knows in advance the video data transmission schedule of the multimedia server 100 in order to receive corresponding video data according to the subscriber's request to watch a specific video (to recognize a transmitted channel). .

In another embodiment, the multimedia server 100 also transmits information about each channel (eg, video data transmission start time) so that the subscriber device 200 recognizes a channel to receive video data. You may.

Hereinafter, a process in which the subscriber device 200 according to the present invention receives video data from the multimedia server 100 using the NVoD transmission method and provides a real-time on-demand video service will be described with reference to the drawings.

4 is a diagram illustrating a process of providing an on-demand video service according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process of providing an on-demand video service in a subscriber device according to another embodiment of the present invention. .

The multimedia server 100 transmits specific video data to different channels in a T time period. Accordingly, in operation 410, the subscriber device 200 receives and stores start data of video data from the multimedia server 100. Here, when the multimedia server 100 initially provides specific video data, it is preferable that the multimedia apparatus 100 transmits identification data separately or included in the video data so that the subscriber device 200 can recognize it. That is, the subscriber device 200 having received the identification data recognizes that the corresponding video data is initially transmitted, and receives and stores the start data according to the T time among the corresponding video data.

Alternatively, the subscriber device 200 determines whether the start data according to the received video data is stored in the storage module 210, and if not, stores the start data of the corresponding video data. In this case, since the subscriber device 200 needs to determine whether the start data of all the received video data is stored, a load may be generated in the subscriber device 200.

In addition, the multimedia server 100 may transmit only the start data to the subscriber device 200 together with the identification data before the specific transmission of the specific video data.

Upon receiving (or receiving input) a viewing request for specific video data from the subscriber in step 420, in step 430 to step 440, pre-stored start data according to the video data is extracted and started to output through the display module 230. In addition, the multimedia server 100 recognizes the channel N among the channels for transmitting the video data in real time. In other words, it recognizes a channel that started to transmit video data just before a video viewing request from a subscriber occurs.

In operation 450, the subscriber device 200 receives and stores continuous data (data after start data), which is video data of a time point T time passed from the beginning after video starts among video data transmitted through channel N. When the output of the start data started in step 430 is completed, the continuous data stored subsequently is output. Thus, the user can watch the video as soon as the video is requested to be watched (without taking time while being extracted from the storage module 210 and output through the buffer 220).

Hereinafter, a process of providing an on-demand multimedia data service in a subscriber device when M is set smaller than T according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5. According to FIG. 5, steps 510 to 520 may be performed in the same manner as steps 410 to 420 according to FIG. 4.

The predetermined time (t2-t) between the time t of receiving the video viewing request from the subscriber in step 530 and the time t2 at which the multimedia server 100 starts transmitting video data on the channel N + 1 is preset. Determine if it is less than (p). That is, it is determined whether the time to wait for video data to be transmitted to the channel N + 1 is smaller than the preset waiting time p. p is of course smaller than T and can be set to " T-M < = p ". Also, p is preferably set within about 10 seconds.

If it is determined that the time t2-t to wait for viewing is smaller than p, in step 540, video data is received and output in real time through the channel N + 1.

If it is determined that t2-t <p, the video data is output using the start data stored in advance in step 550 to step 570 and the continuous data received from the channel N and stored.

Here, in the embodiment according to FIG. 5, M need only be set to T-p or more. That is, since M can be set smaller than T, the amount of starting data can be reduced, thereby reducing the amount of data stored in the storage module 210.

The method of the present invention as described above may be implemented in a program and stored in a computer-readable recording medium (CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, etc.).

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and many variations are possible by those skilled in the art within the spirit of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an on-demand multimedia data service method and apparatus that can provide a service without delay and increase the efficiency of bandwidth by using the same bandwidth as the NVoD scheme. There is.

In addition, by using a NVoD-based multimedia server and a storage module of the subscriber device that can transmit the multimedia data to a plurality of subscribers in a single channel, a method and device for an on-demand multimedia data service that can achieve the same or the same effect as the RVoD or TvoD method There is an effect that can provide.

Although described above with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art that various modifications of the present invention within the scope without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below And can be changed.

Claims (16)

In the subscriber device on demand multimedia data service method, Receiving and storing starting data from the beginning of the multimedia data to M, which is a preset time, from a multimedia server that individually transmits multimedia data using a plurality of channels at a T interval, which is a predetermined time; Initiating the output of the stored start data when a viewing request for the multimedia data is input; And Receiving and storing the continuous data among the multimedia data transmitted in real time from the multimedia server to output continuous data following the start data when the output of the start data is finished. The method of claim 1, And M is a value equal to or greater than T. The method of claim 1, On-demand multimedia data service method characterized in that the output portion of the continuous data is deleted when the output is completed or at a predetermined time interval. The method of claim 1, And the continuous data is received from a channel from which the multimedia data is transmitted immediately before receiving the viewing request among the plurality of channels. The method of claim 1, The continuous data is stored until the end of the multimedia data, and all of the on-demand multimedia data service method characterized in that after being deleted. The method of claim 1, Receiving information on the T and a schedule on which the multimedia data is transmitted from the multimedia server. In the subscriber device on demand multimedia data service method, Receiving and storing starting data from the beginning of the multimedia data to M, which is a preset time, from a multimedia server that individually transmits multimedia data using a plurality of channels at a T interval, which is a predetermined time; Receiving a viewing request for the multimedia data from a subscriber; Determining whether a difference between a time at which multimedia data is transmitted to a new channel and a time at which the viewing request is input is smaller than a preset waiting time; And If the determination result is small, the multimedia data transmitted through the new channel is received in real time and output. If the determination result is large, the output of the stored start data is started, and when the output of the start data ends, the continuous data of the multimedia data transmitted from the multimedia server in real time is output for output of the continuous data following the start data. On-demand multimedia data service method comprising the step of receiving and storing. The method of claim 7, wherein The wait time is T-M or more characterized in that the on-demand multimedia data service method. In the on-demand multimedia data service method in a multimedia server for separately transmitting the multimedia data using a plurality of channels at a predetermined time interval T, And transmitting the separate identification data so that the subscriber device stores start data from the beginning of the multimedia data to M, which is a preset time. The method of claim 9, The identification data is transmitted together with the initial transmission of the multimedia data. The method of claim 9, M is a value equal to or greater than T, on-demand multimedia data service method. In the subscriber device providing on-demand multimedia data service, A communication module configured to receive specific multimedia data from a multimedia server that individually transmits multimedia data using a plurality of channels at a T interval, which is a predetermined time; Store start data from the beginning of the multimedia data received from the multimedia server to M, which is a preset time, or store continuous data after the start data of the multimedia data received in response to a subscriber's viewing request. module; And Control the output by the display module of the start data and the continuous data stored in the storage module in accordance with the viewing request, and recognize the channel started immediately before the viewing requested time of the plurality of channels to receive the continuous data. Subscriber device comprising a control module. The method of claim 12, And the control module deletes the output portion of the continuous data from the storage module at a time point when output is completed or at a predetermined time interval. The method of claim 12, And the control module deletes the data after all of the continuous data is output. The method of claim 12, And the storage module stores start data of all multimedia data transmitted from the multimedia server. The method of claim 12, And wherein M is a value equal to or greater than T.

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