KR101362429B1 - System and method for measuring quality of image contents - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for measuring video content quality, and more particularly, to a system and method for measuring the quality of video content using quantization parameters and transmission error information.
The method for measuring the quality of the video content by the video content quality measurement system includes (a) obtaining a quantization parameter value from the video content received from the video content providing server, and (b) checking whether an error in the transmission process of the video content occurs. And determining (c) the quality of the received image content based on the obtained quantization parameter value and the result of the transmission process error. The quantization parameter value is non-encrypted. May be included in the area.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASUREMENT OF IMAGE CONTENT QUALITY {SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING QUALITY OF IMAGE CONTENTS}

The present invention relates to a system and method for measuring video content quality, and more particularly, to a system and method for measuring the quality of video content using quantization parameters and transmission error information.

In order to manage and improve the quality of video services provided through IPTV and CATV platforms, image quality must be continuously measured and monitored. Conventional image quality measurement systems can be divided into a full-reference method using both the original and the decoded image and a no-reference method that does not require the original.

Since a conventional full-reference image quality measuring device uses both original and decoded image quality, an IPTV platform provider that provides a multi-channel service can always measure image quality for all channels. In order to be able to achieve this, the originals of all serviced channels must be secured in real time, and a decoder for decoding the encoded stream and a facility for synchronizing the original and decoded video must be provided.

In addition, the image quality measuring device must process the image signal in pixel units, so it is difficult to measure more than one channel in real time due to H / W factors such as the performance and interface of the equipment.

Conventional no-reference image quality measuring device does not need the original acquisition and synchronization process, which makes the image quality measurement environment relatively simple. It is difficult to have the ability to measure both simultaneously.

In addition, in the case of paid services such as IPTV, the final transmission stream is encrypted and thus decoding is not possible. Therefore, for measuring quality, a transmitter needs to be installed by branching outgoing streams in the encryption front end, and thus there is a problem in that it is not possible to reflect quality degradation due to an error occurring in a network section.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a method and system for measuring video content quality that can measure the quality of video content without requiring an original content and performing a decoding process.

As a technical means for achieving the above technical problem, a first aspect of the present invention is to (a) obtaining a quantization parameter value from the image content received from the image content providing server, (b) error in the transmission process of the image content And determining (c) measuring the quality of the received image content based on the obtained quantization parameter value and the result of the transmission process error, wherein the quantization parameter value is the image. An image content quality measurement system, which is included in a non-encrypted area of content, may provide a method of measuring the quality of image content.

In a first aspect of the invention, the step (a) comprises (a1) parsing header data including the quantization parameter value from the video content and (a2) from the parsed header data. And acquiring the quantization parameter value, wherein the header data may be included in an unencrypted region of the image content.

In addition, in the first aspect of the present invention, step (a) may include (a3) acquiring a quantization parameter value from the image content at predetermined intervals.

In addition, in the first aspect of the present invention, step (b) determines whether a transmission process error occurs at each preset period, and determines transmission process error information corresponding to each determination based on the determination. It may comprise the step of generating.

In addition, in the first aspect of the present invention, step (c) includes: (c1) quality according to the preset period for a preset time period based on the acquired quantization parameter value for each preset period and the generated transmission process error information; Generating measurement information, storing the generated quality measurement information, and (c2) measuring the quality of the image content based on the stored quality measurement information.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a packet processing module for obtaining a quantization parameter value from header data included in image content received from an image content providing server, and a transmission error for determining whether a transmission process error of the image content occurs. A determination module and a quality measurement module for measuring the quality of the image content based on the obtained quantization parameter value and the determination result of the transmission process error, wherein the header data is included in an unencrypted region of the image content. Can provide a video content quality measurement system.

According to the above-described problem solving means of the present invention, it is possible to measure the quality of the image content without the need for the original image content and performing the decoding process, a conventional full-reference commercial meter It is possible to measure the quality of the video content that the subscriber finally feels by reflecting the quality measurement performance similar to and reflecting the deterioration of the quality occurring in the transmission process.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system for measuring video content quality according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a method for measuring image content quality according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a system for measuring a video content quality according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as being "connected" to another part, it includes not only "directly connected" but also "electrically connected" with another part in between . Also, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without departing from the other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system for measuring video content quality according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the image content providing server 100 may transmit one or more image contents to the set-top boxes 10 and 20 in a multicasting manner. The video content providing server 100 may encode and reproduce the content to be provided, and transmit the encoded content to the set top boxes 10 and 20 and the video content quality measurement system 200 in a multicasting manner.

The video content providing server 100 may perform encryption, such as scramble, on the provided content. However, the set-top box 10 and 20 may be encrypted without performing encryption on a header area of the content. And the image content quality measurement system 200.

The video content quality measurement system 200 is installed at the end subscriber end of the video content providing service similarly to the set top boxes 10 and 20.

Therefore, the image content quality measurement system 200 may receive the same content as the content received by the set-top boxes 10 and 20 in the same network environment as that of the set-top boxes 10 and 20.

The image content quality measurement system 200 obtains a quantization parameter from the header area of the received image content. As described above, since the header area of the video content is an unencrypted non-encrypted area, the video content quality measurement system 200 may obtain a quantization parameter from the directly received video content by omitting the process of decoding or decoding the video content. have.

In addition, the image content quality measurement system 200 may determine whether an error occurs in the transmission process. The image content quality measurement system 200 may determine whether there is an error in the transmission process based on whether all or a portion of the received image content is decoded.

The image content quality measurement system 200 may measure the quality of the received image content based on the acquired quantization parameter and a transmission process error.

The image content quality measurement system 200 may measure the quality of the image content by acquiring a quantization parameter for each frame / field and determining a transmission process error.

In addition, the image content quality measurement system 200 acquires a quantization parameter at each predetermined period, determines whether there is a transmission process error, and based on a predetermined number of quantization parameter values and a transmission process error determination result. You can also measure quality.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a method for measuring image content quality according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step S110, the image content quality measurement system receives the image content from an image content providing server (not shown). The image content quality measurement system may receive image content in a video stream format. In addition, the image content quality measurement system may receive the image content from the image content providing server in a multicasting manner.

In operation S120, the image content quality measurement system parses data included in a header area of the image content received in operation S110 to obtain header information.

The header area of the image content received in step S110 may be in an unencrypted state. Accordingly, the image content quality measurement system may obtain header information without decoding or decoding the image content.

In addition, the image content quality measurement system may obtain header information from the image content at predetermined intervals.

In operation S130, the image content quality measurement system obtains a quantization parameter QP of the image content from the header information obtained in operation S120. The quantization parameter includes a value applied to quantization performed in the process of encoding image content.

The video content providing server (not shown) may generate video content such that the quantization parameter information of the video content is included in the video content. In particular, the video content providing server may include the quantization parameter information in the header information included in the non-encryption region of the video content. Can be generated.

In addition, when the image content quality measurement system obtains the header information for each preset period in step S120, the image content quality measurement system may acquire the quantization parameter from the header information obtained for each preset period in step S130. have.

That is, the image content quality measurement system may acquire the quantization parameter at each predetermined period.

In operation S140, the video content quality measuring system determines whether an error has occurred in the course of transmitting the video content from the video content providing server to the video content quality measuring system. For example, the video content quality measurement system determines whether an error such as a real-time transport protocol (RTP) roast, a transport stream (TS) discontinuity error, a sync byte error, or the like occurs during the transmission process. To judge.

If an error occurs during the transmission process, decoding is impossible regardless of the quality of the video content itself, resulting in interruption in the playback of the video content, thereby degrading the quality experienced by the user.

Accordingly, the image content quality measurement system determines whether an error occurs in a network or the like during the transmission of the image content.

Like the quantization parameter, the image content quality measurement system may determine whether a transmission process error occurs at predetermined intervals. In addition, the image content quality measurement system may generate transmission process error information according to a determination result of whether a transmission error occurs, which is determined every predetermined period.

In step S150, the image content quality measurement system measures the quality of the image content received in step S110 based on the quantization parameter acquired in step S130 and whether or not a transmission process error determined in step S140 occurs. do.

In addition, when acquiring quantization parameters at predetermined periods in steps S130 and S140 and determining whether a transmission process error occurs, the image content quality measurement system determines the acquired quantization parameter and the generated transmission process at each period. Quality measurement information can be generated and stored using the error information.

Thereafter, the image content quality measurement system may measure the quality of the image content using a predetermined number of quality measurement information or quality measurement information generated during a predetermined time.

Therefore, the image quality measuring system may measure the quality of the image content using Equation 1 below in an embodiment of the present invention.

In Equation 1, Q (qp, b) is the quality of a frame / field unit image, qp is a quantization parameter, b is a transmission process error, and α is a quantization calculated through an experiment. It is a parameter coefficient, and C is a quality deterioration value that a user feels like when an actual screen break occurs. α can be calculated through a comparison test with a full-reference commercial meter.

In this case, b has a value of 1 when a transmission error occurs and a value of 0 when a transmission error does not occur. Therefore, the value of f (qp, b) is determined by b and C when a transmission error occurs, and by α and qp when a transmission error does not occur.

In addition, in another embodiment of the present invention, the image quality measuring system may measure the quality of the image content using Equation 2 below.

In Equation 2, Q is the final quality, f (qp, b) is the quality of the frame / field unit image, qp is a quantization parameter, b is whether a transmission error occurs, α is The quantization parameter coefficient calculated through the experiment, and C is a quality deterioration value that the user feels when the actual screen break occurs.

In this case, the final quality Q may be calculated based on f (qp, b) measured at predetermined periods.

3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a system for measuring a video content quality according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Image content quality measurement system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a multicast receiving module 210, packet processing module 220, transmission error determination module 230, quality measurement module 240 and quality data database 250.

The multicast receiving module 210 receives image content transmitted in a multicasting manner from an image content providing server (not shown).

The packet processing module 220 obtains a quantization parameter value from header data included in the image content received from the image content providing server. That is, the packet processing module 220 may process the packet of the received image content, obtain header data included in an unencrypted region of the image content, and obtain a quantization parameter value from the obtained header data.

As described above, since the header data is included in the unencrypted region of the image content, the packet processing module 220 may obtain a quantization parameter value without decoding the image content. The packet processing module 220 may obtain a quantization parameter value from the image content on a frame / field basis.

In addition, the packet processing module 220 may obtain a quantization parameter value for each period from the image content every predetermined period.

The transmission error determination module 230 determines whether a transmission process error of the image content occurs. That is, the transmission error determination module 230 determines whether an error such as a real-time transport protocol (RTP) loss, a transport stream (TS) discontinuity error, a sync byte error, or the like occurs during the transmission process. To judge.

In addition, the transmission error determination module 230 may determine whether or not a transmission process error occurs at every predetermined period.

The quality measuring module 240 measures the quality of the image content based on the acquired quantization parameter value and the determination result of the transmission process error.

When the quantization parameter value is obtained at every preset period by the packet processing module 220 and the transmission error determination module 230 and it is determined whether a transmission process error is detected, the quality measurement module 240 acquires the quantization parameter acquired at each preset period. To generate the quality information for each cycle based on the value and the result of the error determination of the transmission process, and measure the quality of the image content using a plurality of period quality information or a predetermined number of period quality information generated during a predetermined time. Can be.

One embodiment of the present invention may also be embodied in the form of a recording medium including instructions executable by a computer, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. In addition, the computer-readable medium may include both computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Communication media typically includes any information delivery media, including computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave, or other transport mechanism.

While the methods and systems of the present invention have been described in connection with specific embodiments, some or all of those elements or operations may be implemented using a computer system having a general purpose hardware architecture.

The foregoing description of the present invention is intended for illustration, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be easily modified in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. will be. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be distributed and implemented, and components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is shown by the following claims rather than the above description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention. do.

Claims (9)

In the method for measuring the quality of video content, the video content quality measuring system,
(a) obtaining a quantization parameter value from the image content received from the image content providing server,
(b) determining whether an error in the transmission process of the image content occurs;
(c) measuring the quality of the received image content based on the obtained quantization parameter value and the result of the transmission process error;
Lt; / RTI >
The quantization parameter value is included in the non-encrypted region of the video content,
In the step (a), the image content quality measurement method of acquiring quantization parameter values from the image content at predetermined intervals.
The method of claim 1,
The step (a)
(a1) parsing header data including the quantization parameter value from the image content;
(a2) obtaining the quantization parameter value from the parsed header data
Lt; / RTI >
And the header data is included in a non-encrypted region of the image content.
delete The method of claim 1,
The step (b)
(b1) determining whether a transmission process error occurs at each preset period, and generating transmission process error information corresponding to each determination based on the determination;
Image content quality measuring method comprising a.
5. The method of claim 4,
The step (c)
(c1) generating quality measurement information according to the preset period for a preset time based on the quantization parameter value obtained at each preset period and the generated transmission process error information, and storing the generated quality measurement information;
(c2) measuring the quality of the video content based on the stored quality measurement information;
Image content quality measuring method comprising a.
In the image content quality measurement system,
A packet processing module for obtaining a quantization parameter value from header data included in image content received from an image content providing server,
A transmission error determination module for determining whether an error in the transmission process of the image content occurs;
A quality measurement module for measuring the quality of the video content based on the obtained quantization parameter value and the determination result of the transmission process error.
/ RTI >
The header data is included in an unencrypted area of the video content,
And the packet processing module obtains a quantization parameter value from the image content at predetermined intervals.
delete The method according to claim 6,
The transmission error determination module is to determine whether there is a transmission process error for each cycle at each predetermined period.
The method of claim 8,
The quality measuring module generates period-specific quality information based on the period-based quantization parameter value and the period-by-period error determination result for each predetermined period, and based on the plurality of period-specific quality information generated during a predetermined time period. To measure the quality of the video content.

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