KR101153584B1 - Method and Apparatus for providing continuously plMethod and Apparatus for providing continuously play service ay service - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for providing a follow-up service. The present invention provides a method of providing a resume service in a content server connected to a user terminal through a network, the method comprising: receiving a content request from the logged-in user terminal, transmitting the requested content to the user terminal; Storing the end time of the content when there is a request for termination of the content during display of the content, and supporting the content to be displayed after the end time when the user requests the content again later; do. According to the present invention, it is possible to support a content retrieval service on the web, and there is an advantage that a selective replay service is possible for the content.

Content, multimedia, resume, selection, on the web, end point, condition

Description

Method and Apparatus for Providing Resume Service {Method and Apparatus for providing continuously play service}

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing a subsequent viewing service, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for providing a subsequent viewing service of content previously viewed by a user when a preset condition is satisfied.

In the past, users could only obtain text-oriented information through the Internet. Recently, multimedia services including video have been enabled due to the development of video compression technology and network transmission technology.

Many websites now offer multimedia services based on Adobe Flash Player.

When the user selects one content from the content list of the website, it is displayed from the beginning of the content by the player installed in the user terminal.

At this time, in order for a user to watch from a specific position instead of the beginning of the content, the viewpoint must be changed directly. And even if the same content is selected again after terminating during the display of the content, the corresponding content is displayed from the beginning and cannot be continued.

In general, if a large-capacity hard disk is installed in the user terminal, the resume service is available, but such a resume service is not supported in a general website provided by a streaming method.

On the other hand, in some cases, it may be efficient to watch predetermined content from the beginning instead of continuing.

However, since the conventional replay service provides the replay service of the content unconditionally when the user re-requests the content terminated during the display, the content is provided from the intermediate point of view to the user who wants to watch from the beginning. There is a problem that causes inconvenience.

In order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, the present invention is to propose a method and apparatus that can provide an efficient rehearsal service.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus that can optionally provide for a subsequent service.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention to achieve the above object, a method for providing a resume service in a content server connected to the user terminal and a network, comprising: (a) receiving a content request from the logged in user terminal Making; (b) transmitting the requested content to the user terminal; (c) storing an end time of the content when the user requests to terminate the content while displaying the content; And (d) if the user requests the content again later, supporting the content to be displayed after the end time.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for providing a content viewing service in a user terminal, comprising: (a) receiving a content request of a user; (b) displaying the requested content; (c) storing an end time of the content when the user requests to terminate the content while displaying the content; And (d) if the user requests the content again later, supporting the content to be displayed after the end time.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a program of instructions that can be executed by a digital processing apparatus for a viewing service is tangibly embodied and can be read by the digital processing apparatus, the contents being recorded from the logged-in user terminal. Receiving a request; Transmitting the requested content to the user terminal; Storing an end time of the content when the user requests to terminate the content while displaying the content; And a recording medium for performing the step of supporting the content to be displayed after the end time when the user requests the content again.

According to another aspect of the invention, the device connected to the user terminal via a network to provide a follow-up service, comprising: a user information management unit for performing the user registration and authentication process; A content register to register content related information; And transmits the content according to the request of the logged-in user terminal to the user terminal, and when the user requests to terminate the content while displaying the content, stores the end time of the content, and the user later returns the content. When the request is made, there is provided an apparatus for providing a preview service including a user request processor for supporting the content to be displayed after the end time.

According to the present invention, there is an advantage in that it is possible to provide a retrieving service for content provided on the web while updating and storing content use related information of each user.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to increase the user's convenience of using the content since it is determined whether the subsequent viewing is suitable according to the end time, the previous viewing date and the number of viewing of the content.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate a thorough understanding of the present invention, the same reference numerals are used for the same means regardless of the number of the drawings.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a system according to the present invention may include a content server 100 and one or more databases 102, 104, which may be connected to one or more user terminals 106 via a network. Can be.

The network may include both the Internet, a wired network including a dedicated line, and a wireless network including a wireless Internet, a mobile communication network, and a satellite communication network.

The content server 100 is connected to the content database 102 in which multimedia content of a predetermined format (for example, a flash format) is stored. When the request of the logged-in user terminal 106 is requested, the content server 100 stores the content in the content database 102. To extract and transmit it to the user terminal 106.

In this case, when the content database 102 is configured as a file server, the content server 100 provides only a storage location for the content requested to the user terminal 106, and the user terminal 106 directly accesses the file server. It may also receive certain content.

In the following description, it is assumed that the content server 100 directly transmits the requested content.

In addition, the content server 100 is connected to a user database 104 that stores not only the individual information of individual users, but also information related to the use of the contents of the individual users, and is linked with the user database 104. Provide service.

The user terminal 106 may be connected to the content server 100 through a network, and may be a terminal capable of decoding and displaying multimedia content. The user terminal 106 may include a conventional desktop, a notebook computer, a mobile communication terminal, a set top box, and the like. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the user terminal 106 may include all terminals capable of providing a content retrieving service in association with the content server 100.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the content server 100 provides a content retrieving service to a logged-in user while storing and updating information related to the use of the content of the individual user.

In this case, the content usage related information of each user is stored in the user database 104, and as shown in FIG. 2, includes a user ID, a content name, a content address (storage location), an end time, a view count, and a viewing date. can do.

When the logged-in user requests the predetermined content for the first time, the content usage related information for the first requested content is generated for the user ID.

When the content is initially requested, the end time and the number of viewing times are set to zero.

According to the present invention, when the user requests the termination of the display of the predetermined content, the content server 100 receives the end time information from the user terminal 106, by using this to update the content usage-related information for the user do.

The above update means updating the end time of the content whose display is finished in the user database 104.

Subsequently, when the user requests the same content again, the content server 100 supports display of the content after the end point.

Preferably, the content server 100 according to the present invention may selectively support the content retrieving service only when the content retrieving condition is satisfied for the corresponding content.

In the present invention, whether or not the following condition is satisfied depends on whether the end point of the corresponding content is within a predetermined section range, whether the previous viewing date is within a predetermined period from the current date, or whether the number of viewing contents is within a predetermined number of times. Can be determined.

When the content retrieval condition is satisfied, the content server 100 transmits predetermined control information to the user terminal 106, and the user terminal 106 uses the control information described above, as shown in FIG. 3. The content resume inquiry message 300 is displayed during display.

If the user requests again the content previously terminated during the display, the user terminal 106 basically starts displaying the content after the end time, and maintains the resume display state if the user accepts the resume in the inquiry message. . However, if the user cancels the subsequent viewing, the content is displayed again from the beginning of the corresponding content.

According to the present invention, the content retrieval service can be provided while storing and updating information related to the use of content of the individual user on the web, and furthermore, the user can conveniently provide the replay service only when a predetermined condition is satisfied. Can increase.

Hereinafter, the content server according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 5.

4 is a block diagram of a content server according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the content server according to the present invention may include a terminal communication unit 400, a user information management unit 402, a user request processing unit 404, and a content registration unit 406.

The terminal communication unit 400 establishes a connection with one or more user terminals 106, receives a predetermined request from the user terminal 106, and transmits information according to the request to the user terminal 106.

The user information manager 402 processes a user registration and user authentication (login) process.

The user information manager 402 determines whether the user is already a registered member when the user requests to join the membership, and receives and stores the information input by the user in the user database 104 when the user is not subscribed. do.

Here, the information input by the user who registers as a member may include information such as a general ID, password, address, contact information, and the like.

In addition, the user information manager 402 determines whether the ID and password input by the registered user are the same as the previously stored information, and logs in the user.

The user request processor 404 processes a request related to content use of a logged-in user.

The user request processor 404 extracts the requested content to the content database 102 and transmits the requested content to the user terminal 106 when the user requests the provision of predetermined content, and when there is content transmission to the user terminal 106. The content usage related information is updated in the user database 104.

As described above, when requesting a new content, the user request processing unit 404 generates a field including the name, address, end time, number of views and the date of viewing of the newly requested content for the user ID.

If the user requests termination while displaying the content, the user request processing unit 404 updates the termination time point for the corresponding content to the point in time at which the termination is requested.

On the other hand, when the user completes the viewing of a piece of content until the end, the user request processor 404 updates the number of viewing of the content.

If the user requests content that has not been previously viewed, the user request processor 404 performs a process of determining whether a predetermined condition is satisfied.

5 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a user request processing unit according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the user request processor according to the present invention may include an information updater 500, a dedicated page generator 502, a condition determiner 504, and a control information generator 506. .

As described above, the information update unit 500 processes the information related to the user's use of the content to be reflected in the user database 104.

The dedicated page generator 502 generates a dedicated page for using content of an individual user.

The dedicated page according to the present invention is a page for providing a history of content usage of an individual user and selecting a content. The dedicated page is generated based on the content usage information of the corresponding user, and includes a content name, address, End time, the viewing date and the number of viewing may be included in the form of a list.

The content resumption service according to the present invention may be provided when the user selects predetermined content from a dedicated page, but is not necessarily limited thereto.

The condition determiner 504 determines whether the content satisfies the following condition when the user re-requests content previously terminated during display.

According to the present invention, the condition determination unit 504 may determine whether the following condition is satisfied using various information.

First, the condition determination unit 504 may determine whether an end point of predetermined content belongs to a preset section.

According to the present invention, the interval for determining whether the following condition is satisfied is determined by the ratio of the total execution time of the corresponding content, and the ratio may include a lower limit ratio and an upper limit ratio.

For example, the lower limit ratio may be set to 10%, and the upper limit ratio may be set to 90%. Accordingly, in the case of 60-minute content, the lower limit value of the reproduction section is 6 minutes and the upper limit value is 54 minutes.

In this case, the condition determination unit 504 determines whether the end point of the 60-minute content is in the range of 6 minutes to 54 minutes, and if the end point is in the above range, the control information generation unit 506 Generates control information for content resume.

This is because, for a predetermined content, if the user only watches the front of the content or ends at the end of the content, it is likely that the user wants to view it again from the beginning.

The user terminal 106 receives the control information and outputs a query message as shown in FIG. 3.

In the above description, the lower limit value and the upper limit value are both set for the reproduction section, but this is only an example, and only one of the lower limit value and the upper limit value may be set.

In addition, the lower limit value and the upper limit value are not determined based on the total execution time of the content, but the same lower limit value (for example, 5 minutes after the start) or the upper limit value (for example, 5 minutes before the end) is set for all contents. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this may be possible.

Meanwhile, the condition determiner 504 may determine whether the following condition is satisfied using the number of viewing times.

A large number of viewing of a content means that the user has watched the corresponding content a lot, which can be interpreted as a user watching the content with interest.

Accordingly, the condition determination unit 504 determines whether the number of viewing of the content to be continued is less than the preset number of times (the threshold of the number of viewing).

When it is determined that the number of times of viewing the content is smaller than the preset number of times, the control information generation unit 506 generates control information for resuming the contents.

For example, the threshold of the number of viewing times may be set to 5, and content that has been viewed five or more times may be predicted to be viewed by the user from the beginning. Accordingly, the content server 100 may support to selectively resume viewing only contents whose viewing frequency is less than five.

On the other hand, the condition determination unit 504 may determine whether the following conditions are satisfied based on the viewing date.

Even if the user requests the content that has ended halfway, it may not be appropriate to provide the resume service to the user when the previous viewing date for the content exceeds a preset period from the current date.

Here, the period threshold may be set to 7 days, and if it is determined by the condition determination unit 504 not to exceed 7 days from the previous viewing date and the current date, the control information generation unit 506 may perform content resume. Generate control information for

According to the present invention, the various condition determination process may be performed independently of each other, alternatively, may be sequentially performed in the order of the viewing date, the number of viewing and the end time.

When the sequential determination is made, the condition determination unit 504 determines the number of times of preset viewing times when the previous viewing date does not exceed the preset period from the current date at the time when the user re-requests the content finished during display. It may be determined whether the content is smaller, and finally, when the number of viewing times is smaller than the preset number, it may be determined whether the end point is located in the preset section, and it may be determined whether the corresponding content satisfies the following condition.

Again, referring to FIG. 4, the content registration unit 406 stores the content uploaded by the administrator in the content database 102.

The content registration unit 406 receives a content name, genre, format, address, and other descriptions input by an administrator, and when there is an administrator's content upload, uploads the uploaded content in a preset format, for example, a flash (flv) format. Are automatically converted into the content database 102 and stored.

Here, uploading content includes not only registering the content file itself with the content server 100 but also inputting address information in which the content is stored. In this case, the user terminal 106 may receive the content requested by the user using the above address information.

According to the present invention, not only an administrator but also a general user may access the content server 100 to register predetermined content.

The content registration unit 406 receives content related information input by the user and content uploaded by the user and stores the content related information in the content database 102.

According to the present invention, when a user inputs content address information in a real time format, a real time video chat service may be provided.

That is, when the first user inputs address information corresponding to his or her computer, the other second user may select the address information and receive the image collected from the first user's computer. When the second user inputs his / her computer address information, the first user may receive an image collected from the computer of the second user.

Hereinafter, a process of providing a content retrieval service according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 to 7.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing a content retrieval service according to the present invention.

The content server 100 keeps the content database 102 and the user database 104 up to date (step 600).

If there is a connection of the user terminal 106, the user login procedure is processed using the ID and password received from the user terminal 106 (step 602).

When a predetermined content request is received at the user terminal 106 having completed login (step 604), the content server 100 transmits the requested content to the user terminal 106 (step 606).

At the same time as the content transmission, the content server 100 generates or updates the content usage-related information for the user (step 608).

The user terminal 106 executes a predetermined player to display the received content (step 610).

If the user requests termination of the content during display (step 612), the user terminal 106 ends the display of the corresponding content (step 614), and transmits the end time to the content server 100 (step 616).

In operation 616, the user terminal 106 may transmit information for content identification and information for identification of the user terminal together with the end time.

The content server 100 stores the end time in the content usage related information of the user (step 618).

Subsequently, when the user terminal 106 requests the content again (step 620), the content server 100 determines whether the content satisfies the resumption condition and whether the content becomes a resumption target. In operation 622, if the condition for acquiring is satisfied, control information for the acquiring is transmitted to the user terminal 106 (operation 624).

The user terminal 106 outputs a query message for resuming content through the control information (step 626).

On the other hand, if the content does not satisfy the following condition in step 622, the user terminal 106 controls to be displayed from the beginning of the content (step 628).

7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining whether to be a content resume target according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, when there is content usage of a user, the content server 100 updates content usage related information (step 700).

As described above, the content usage related information may include a content name, a content address, an end time point, a viewing frequency, a viewing date, and the like.

When the request for the content that has ended halfway from the user terminal 106 is received again (step 702), the content server 100 first refers to the content usage-related information, and a period in which the previous content viewing date is preset from the current date. It is determined whether to exceed (step 704).

If it does not exceed the preset period, the content server 100 determines whether the number of viewing of the corresponding content is less than the preset number of times (step 706).

If the number of viewing times is less than the preset number, the content server 100 determines whether the end point is located in the preset section (step 708).

When the end point of the corresponding content is located in a predetermined section through the above-described determination process, control information for resuming the content is generated (step 710), and is transmitted to the user terminal 106.

On the other hand, if the above conditions are not satisfied in steps 704 to 708, the same process as step 628 of FIG. 6 is performed (step 712).

In the above description, steps 704 to 708 are described as being sequentially performed, but it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that any one step may be selectively performed without being limited thereto.

In the above description, the content server 100 performs the above-described determination process. However, if the user terminal 106 stores the content received from the content server 100, the content server 100 stores the content received on the hard disk. Outputting a subsequent query message by performing at least one of the determination processes may be included in the scope of the present invention.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention described above are disclosed for purposes of illustration, and those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications, changes, and additions within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Additions should be considered to be within the scope of the following claims.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of content usage related information according to the present invention;

3 is a view showing an example of a subsequent query message output screen according to the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a content server according to the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a user request processing unit according to the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing a content retrieval service according to the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining whether to be a content resume target according to the present invention.

Claims (15)

A method of providing a resume service in a content server connected to a user terminal through a network, (a) receiving a content request from the logged in user terminal; (b) transmitting the requested content to the user terminal; (c) storing an end time of the content when the user requests to terminate the content while displaying the content; And (d) if the user requests the contents again later, supporting the contents to be displayed after the end time; The step (d) includes determining whether at least one of the end time, the number of times of viewing the content, and a previous viewing date satisfy a preset condition. And providing the content after the end time when the preset condition is satisfied. delete The method of claim 1, In the step (d), if the end point is located in a predetermined section of the content, the preview service providing method supports to display the content after the end point. The method of claim 3, The preset section is a preview service providing method is determined by a predetermined ratio of the total execution time of the content. The method of claim 1, In the step (d), when the number of viewing of the content is smaller than a preset number, the method of providing a subsequent preview service to support the content to be displayed after the end time. The method of claim 1, In the step (d), if the previous viewing date of the content does not exceed a preset period from the current date, the preview service providing method of supporting the content is displayed after the end time. The method of claim 1, The step (d) Generating control information for querying the replay of the content; The user terminal displays the content after the end time and outputs an inquiry message by receiving the control information at the same time as the content subsequent inquiry, and after the end time when the user consents to the inquiry How to provide the ear view service to maintain the content display state from. The method of claim 1, Maintaining content usage related information for the user in a database, wherein the content usage related information includes at least one of a content name, a storage location, a viewing frequency, a viewing date, and an end time viewed by the user; But In the step (c), the end point service for updating the content from the content usage related information for the user according to the termination request. The method of claim 8, And transmitting a dedicated page including the content usage related information in a list form to the user terminal when a user requests the same. The method of claim 1, Uploading a content file; And And converting the content file into a preset format simultaneously with the upload. A method for providing a content retrieval service in a user terminal, (a) receiving a content request from a user; (b) displaying the requested content; (c) storing an end time of the content when the user requests to terminate the content while displaying the content; And (d) if the user requests the content again later, supporting the content to be displayed after the end time;  Wherein the step (d) comprises the step of outputting a content retrieval inquiry message, if at least one of the end time, the number of times of viewing and the previous viewing date meets a preset condition. delete The method of claim 11, The inquiry message is output when the end point is located in a preset section of the content, and the preset section is determined by a preset ratio of the total execution time of the content. A recording medium tangibly embodied and readable by a digital processing device, the program of instructions being executed by the digital processing device for the viewing service, Receiving a content request from a logged in user terminal; Transmitting the requested content to the user terminal; Storing an end time of the content when the user requests to terminate the content while displaying the content; And If the user requests the content again later, it is determined whether at least one of the end time, the number of times the content has been viewed, and the previous viewing date satisfies a preset condition. And supporting the content to be displayed after the end time. A device connected to a user terminal through a network to provide a look-ahead service, A user information management unit which performs user registration and authentication processing; A content register to register content related information; And Sends the content according to the request of the logged-in user terminal to the user terminal, and if the end request of the user during the display of the content, the end time for the content is stored, and the user requests the content again later In this case, it is determined whether at least one of the end time, the number of times of viewing the content and the previous viewing date satisfy a preset condition, and the content is displayed after the end time when the preset condition is satisfied. An apparatus for providing ear service including a supporting user request processor.

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