KR101937449B1 - Method and apparatus for providing adaptively video service - Google Patents

Abstract

A video service apparatus and method are disclosed.
The adaptive streaming technology has to perform a conversion operation such as bit rate change, transcoding, and the like for a large number of video contents, and therefore it is not easy to manage content from the viewpoint of the contents provider (CP). As a result, the efforts of the content provider (CP) for the adaptive streaming service are doubled, the portion to be considered in terms of cost and operational efficiency becomes large, and ultimately, a problem that the quality video service can not be provided to the client . Accordingly, in the present invention, the video contents are adaptively managed (converted and stored) between the client and the content provider (CP), and the resulting video content of the adaptive streaming method is provided to the client, And to propose a video service technology capable of differentially setting the video quality level considering the state of the client terminal.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING ADAPTIVELY VIDEO SERVICE [0002]

The present invention relates to a moving picture service, and more particularly, to a moving picture service apparatus and a moving picture service method suitable for adaptively providing moving picture contents according to a moving picture traffic attribute and terminal apparatus information.

Currently, most content providers (CPs) provide video services using the HPD (Http Progressive Download) method. The HPD method is a service method capable of concurrently playing back video data while downloading moving image data. Since the video data of a fixed bit rate is transmitted, no network state or client side characteristics are considered.

In view of this, in the recent video service environment, adaptive streaming (AS) technology utilizing both advantages of the download method and advantages of the streaming method is being provided. The adaptive streaming technology is a technology in which a content provider (CP) provides a buffering or seamless video viewing environment by dynamically changing a bit rate of a moving picture according to a terminal characteristic and a network load state. The adaptive streaming technology includes a hypertext transfer protocol (http) Based web standard protocol is applied, it is advantageous in that it is more efficient than a general streaming method.

Nevertheless, the adaptive streaming technology has to perform a conversion operation such as bit rate change, transcoding, and the like for a large number of video contents, and therefore it is not easy to manage the contents in view of the content provider (CP) .

As a result, the efforts of the content provider (CP) for the adaptive streaming service are doubled, the portion to be considered in terms of cost and operational efficiency becomes large, and ultimately, a problem that the quality video service can not be provided to the client .

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0052088, published on May 19, 2010

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the conventional technical limitations, and it is an object of the present invention to adaptively manage (convert and store) video content between a client and a content provider (CP), and to provide a resultant adaptive streaming- We propose a video service technology that can be provided.

In addition, the present invention proposes a video service technology capable of determining an adaptive streaming service type compatible with a client terminal in service of an adaptive streaming video content between a client and a content provider (CP).

Also, in the present invention, a video service technique capable of setting a video quality level differentially considering the state of a client terminal in service of an adaptive streaming video content between a client and a content provider (CP) is proposed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video conversion apparatus for converting and categorizing moving picture contents into a plurality of adaptive streaming service types based on moving picture service response information corresponding to moving picture service request information from a client terminal apparatus, A terminal information analysis unit for determining whether the client terminal apparatus is capable of adaptive streaming service for the moving image content to be converted and cached; And a service type determining unit that determines an adaptive streaming service type applicable to the client terminal apparatus among the adaptive streaming service types of the streaming service type.

Here, the moving picture conversion unit may convert a bit rate of the moving picture content.

The moving picture conversion unit may generate the moving picture contents for each bit rate, and then divide the moving picture contents generated for each bit rate into a predetermined unit.

The plurality of adaptive streaming service types may include any one of HLS (Http Live Streaming), SS (Smooth Streaming), and HDS (Http Dynamic Streaming).

The moving picture service apparatus may further include means for setting a motion picture quality level in consideration of the state of the client terminal apparatus.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for processing a video stream, comprising the steps of: converting video content on a plurality of adaptive streaming service types based on moving picture service response information corresponding to moving picture service request information from a client terminal; The method comprising the steps of: determining whether the client terminal apparatus is capable of the adaptive streaming service for the moving image content; if the client terminal apparatus is capable of adaptive streaming service, applying the adaptive streaming service type to the client terminal apparatus And determining a possible adaptive streaming service type.

The method may further include transmitting the video content to the client terminal device in the determined adaptive streaming service type after the determining.

In addition, the moving picture contents may be differentially set to a predetermined level range according to the state of the client terminal apparatus.

The method may further include analyzing the traffic attribute of the moving picture content based on the moving picture service response information corresponding to the moving picture service request information from the client terminal device prior to the converting step.

In addition, the converting may include: converting a bit rate of the moving picture content; generating the moving picture content for each of a plurality of bit rates; and dividing the moving picture content generated for each of the plurality of bit rates into a predetermined unit .

According to the present invention, an adaptive streaming video content adaptively managed between a client and a content provider (CP) can be provided to a client, an adaptive streaming service type matched to the client terminal can be determined, The video quality level considering the state of the video quality can be set differentially, thereby providing seamless video service to the client. Accordingly, it is possible to enhance the quality of experience (QoE) of the client and effectively utilize the radio resources by reducing the traffic.

1 is a block diagram of a whole network including a video service apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a detailed block diagram of a moving picture service apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary moving picture service method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
4 is a diagram for explaining a moving picture conversion process in a moving picture service method according to an embodiment of the present invention,
5 is a view for explaining a moving picture service transmission technique according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is an adaptive streaming moving picture content transmission technique;

Brief Description of the Drawings The advantages and features of the present invention, and the manner in which it may be achieved, will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, but may be implemented in various other forms. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. It is just defined. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

In the following description of the present invention, detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. The following terms are defined in consideration of the functions in the embodiments of the present invention, which may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user or operator. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

Before describing the embodiments, the present invention can provide a client with an adaptive streaming video content adaptively managed between a client and a contents provider (CP) It is possible to improve the quality of experience (QoE) of the client and reduce the traffic by providing the continuous video service to the client by determining the adaptive streaming service type or by setting the video quality level in consideration of the state of the client terminal And it is intended to increase the radio resource efficiency. From this technical idea, the objects of the present invention can be easily achieved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall network configuration including a video service apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The client terminal apparatus 100 includes a client terminal apparatus 100, a network 10, a video service apparatus 200, ), And the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the client terminal apparatus group 100 may include a plurality of client terminal apparatuses 100/1 to 100 / N. According to the present embodiment, the client terminal apparatus group 100 may include an adaptive streaming- A plurality of types of client terminal devices such as a smart phone, a smart pad, a tablet PC, and the like may be included as a group of devices for providing the service.

The client terminal device group 100 may provide a broadband wireless communication service to a client by interfacing with a network 10, which will be described later, through a broadband wireless connection. At this time, the broadband wireless communication service is not limited to the third generation wireless communication technology of WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), but also the fourth generation or more wireless communication technology of LTE (Long Term Evolution) / EPC (Evolved Packet Core) Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > wireless < / RTI >

In addition, the client terminal device group 100 may provide a short-range wireless communication service to a subscriber by interfacing with a network 10, which will be described later, by a short-range wireless connection. The short-range wireless communication service may be a Wi-Fi communication service. The client terminal group 100 may be connected to the video service apparatus 200 through a network 10 providing short- Lt; / RTI >

In particular, any client terminal device, for example, client terminal device 1 (100/1) of client terminal device group 100 may apply adaptive streaming technology executable on the terminal device 100 to adapt any video content to an adaptive As shown in FIG. For example, the adaptive streaming technique may be applied to any one of HLS (Http Live Streaming), SS (Smooth Streaming), and HDS (Http Dynamic Streaming) The adaptive streaming technique of FIG.

The network 10 may include a broadband wireless communication network or a local area wireless communication network and may connect the client terminal group 100 and the video service apparatus 200 to provide a moving picture service, A service for providing an adaptive streaming video content adaptively managed between the terminal device 1 100/1 and the content providing device 300 to the client terminal device 1 100/1, A service for determining an adaptive streaming service type conforming to the client terminal device 1 100/1, and a service for setting a video quality level differently considering the state of the client terminal device 1 100/1.

Here, the broadband wireless communication network is involved in call setup and resource allocation of the client terminal apparatus group 100. Although not shown in the drawing, a wireless network It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be practiced without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Such a broadband wireless communication network plays a role of guaranteeing the mobility of the client terminal device group 100 and can perform a function of managing handover and radio resources. The broadband wireless communication network may comprise a base station and a base station controller and may support both synchronous and asynchronous.

The short-range wireless communication network in the network 10 provides a short-range communication environment between the client terminal device group 100 and the video service apparatus 200 and can include a wireless communication environment such as Wi-Fi have.

The moving picture service apparatus 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention transmits an adaptive streaming video content adaptively managed between the client terminal apparatus 1 100/1 and the content providing apparatus 300 to the client terminal apparatus 1 (100/1), determines an adaptive streaming service type compatible with the client terminal apparatus 1 (100/1) between the client terminal apparatus 1 (100/1) and the content providing apparatus 300, It is possible to differentially set the moving picture quality level in consideration of the state of the client terminal apparatus 1 100/1 between the apparatus 1 100/1 and the contents providing apparatus 300. The specific configuration and function of the moving picture service apparatus 200 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG.

The content providing apparatus 300 may include a server for providing various contents, for example, video contents, to the client terminal apparatus group 100 through the network 10. [ Although FIG. 1 shows one content providing apparatus 300 connected to the network 10, it is to be understood that only a few content providing apparatuses may be provided according to need, It will be easy to know if you are knowledgeable.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a video service apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The service management unit 202, the traffic attribute analysis unit 204, the moving image conversion unit 206, An information analysis unit 208, a service type determination unit 210, a client DB (Data Base) 212, a content DB 214, and the like.

2, the service management unit 202 includes the traffic attribute analysis unit 204, the moving picture conversion unit 206, the terminal information analysis unit 208, the service type determination unit 210, the client DB The client terminal device group 100 and the content providing device 300 can manage video service request information, video service response information, adaptive streaming method, Video content and so on.

For example, when there is a video service request from any client terminal device (e.g., client terminal device 1 100/1), the service management module 202 delivers the request information to the content providing device 300, When there is a moving image service response from the device 300, the corresponding response information is transmitted to the client terminal device 1 100/1, and the adaptive streaming service type determined by the service type determination unit 210, which will be described later, And can transmit the streaming video content to the client terminal device 1 (100/1). The adaptive streaming service type may include a service type of either HLS or SS or HDS, as described above. At this time, the moving picture service request information from the client terminal unit 1 (100/1) may include information on the client terminal unit 1 100/1, for example, user information, terminal performance information, The moving picture service response information provided from the content providing apparatus 300 may include information on any moving picture content, for example, a moving picture capacity, a reproduction time, a bit rate, and the like.

The traffic attribute analysis unit 204 may analyze the attribute of the moving image traffic provided from the content providing apparatus 300. [ For example, it is possible to analyze whether the corresponding video content is a popular video or a frequently viewed video.

The moving image converting unit 206 may convert the moving image content provided from the content providing apparatus 300 and temporarily caches the converted moving image content in the content DB 214. [ Here, the video content conversion refers to a process of converting the bit rate of the video content, a process of converting the bit rate of the video content, a process of generating the video content by the image quality (per bit rate) And so on.

The terminal information analyzing unit 208 can analyze whether the client terminal apparatus 1 100/1 is a terminal apparatus capable of adaptive streaming service. For example, it can be determined from the video service request information whether the client terminal apparatus 1 100/1 is a terminal apparatus capable of adaptive streaming service.

The service type determination unit 210 may determine an adaptive streaming service type when the client terminal device 1 100/1 is a terminal device capable of adaptive streaming service. The adaptive streaming service type may include a service type of either HLS or SS or HDS, as described above.

The client DB 212 can be managed by the service management unit 202, and client information, client terminal device information and the like are stored, and optional information can be selected by the service management unit 202 as needed.

The content DB 214 can be managed by the service management unit 202. The video content provided from the content providing apparatus 300, the video content converted by the video conversion unit 206, and the like are stored, Any information can be selected and selected by the service management unit 202. [

These DBs 212 and 214 may be implemented using a relational database management system (RDBMS) such as Oracle, Infomix, Sybase, DB2, or a combination of a relational database management system such as Gemston, Orion, (OODBMS), such as O2, O2, etc., and may have suitable fields to achieve their functions.

Hereinafter, a video service method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

3, when the video service request is received from the client terminal unit 1 (100/1) (S100), the video service apparatus 200 transmits the video service request information of the client terminal unit 1 (100/1) To the providing apparatus 300 (S102). The moving picture service request information at this time includes not only the moving picture information required by the client terminal unit 1 100/1 but also terminal information (manufacturer information, model name, etc.) of the client terminal unit 1 100/1 or user information And the like.

The content providing apparatus 300 receiving the video service request information can deliver the video service response information corresponding to the video service request information to the video service apparatus 200 (S104). The video service response information may include not only the video content corresponding to the video service request information but also at least one of the capacity, the reproduction time, and the bit rate of the video content.

When the video service response information is provided to the video service apparatus 200, the video service apparatus 200 may provide the corresponding video service response information to the client terminal apparatus 100/1 (S106). At this time, the moving picture service apparatus 200 may temporarily store moving picture contents corresponding to the moving picture service response information in the contents DB 214. [

Thereafter, the video service apparatus 200 may analyze the traffic attribute of the corresponding video content through the traffic attribute analysis unit 204 (S108). For example, the traffic attribute analysis unit 204 may analyze whether the corresponding video content is a popular video or a frequently viewed video.

Then, the moving picture service apparatus 200 may convert the corresponding moving picture content through the moving picture conversion unit 206, temporarily store the converted moving picture content in the content DB 214 (S110).

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the moving picture content conversion process.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the case of 40-second video contents encoded at 1 Mbps, it is possible to divide 1-Mbps video contents into four blocks for 10 seconds each and then generate one video chunk, May be transcoded at 500 Kbps and divided into 4 blocks of 10 seconds each, and then one video chunk may be generated. In the generated one video chunk, each block can be adaptively selected as needed.

The generated video chunks may be stored in the content DB 214 via a caching process and may be adapted by the service management unit 202 according to the state of the client terminal apparatus 1 100/1 or the state of the network 10 Video content can be selected and provided to the client terminal device 1 (100/1). For example, if the client terminal unit 1 100/1 is a smart pad, the 1Mbps video content can be selected and transmitted. If the client terminal unit 1 100/1 is a smartphone, Lt; / RTI > Of course, when the client terminal device 1 100/1 is a smart pad, it is necessary to note that if the reception state of the network 10 is suddenly poor, the 1Mbps video content may be transmitted and then changed to the 500Kbps video content and transmitted .

On the other hand, the video service apparatus 200 determines whether there is a video service request from the client terminal apparatus 100/1 (S112), and if there is a video service request, transmits the video service request information to the content providing apparatus 300 (S114). The moving picture service request information at this time includes not only the moving picture information required by the client terminal unit 1 100/1 but also terminal information (manufacturer information, model name, etc.) of the client terminal unit 1 100/1 or user information And the like.

The content providing apparatus 300 receiving the video service request information may deliver the video service response information corresponding to the video service request information to the video service apparatus 200 (S116). The video service response information may include not only the video content corresponding to the video service request information but also at least one of the capacity, the reproduction time, and the bit rate of the video content.

If the video service response information is provided to the video service apparatus 200, the video service apparatus 200 determines whether the client terminal apparatus 1 100/1 is a terminal apparatus capable of adaptive streaming service through the terminal information analysis unit 208 (S118). The adaptive streaming service availability determination may be implemented based on the video service request information provided in step S112.

Then, the video service apparatus 200 can determine the adaptive streaming service type of the client terminal apparatus 1 (100/1) through the service type determination unit 210. For example, when the client terminal apparatus 1 (100/1) is a terminal capable of adaptive streaming service, it is possible to determine an adaptive streaming service type that can be performed in the client terminal apparatus 1 (100/1) among a plurality of adaptive streaming service types have. For example, the service type of either HLS or SS or HDS can be determined.

When the adaptive streaming service type is determined, the video service apparatus 200 can deliver the adaptive streaming video service response information to the client terminal apparatus 100/1. For example, when the client terminal device 1 (100/1) is the HLS service type, it can transmit confirmation information indicating that the HLS mode video service is available to the client terminal device 1 (100/1).

Thereafter, the video service apparatus 200, specifically, the service management unit 202 may select the video content having an arbitrary bit rate in the content DB 214 and transmit the video content in the HLS mode (S214). For example, when the client terminal device 1 100/1 is a smart pad and the network 10 is in a good state, 1Mbps video content can be transmitted in the HLS mode.

At this time, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the service management unit 202 of the moving picture service apparatus 200 transmits the HLS-formatted moving picture contents according to the state of the client terminal apparatus 1 100/1 or the state of the network 10 , The video quality level considering the state of the client terminal apparatus 100/1 can be set differentially.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the client terminal device 1 100/1 is a smart pad, it can be set to a video quality level such as A, i.e., 1 Mbps → 900 Kbps → 800 Kbps, 1 (100/1) is a smart phone, it can be set to a moving picture quality level such as B, that is, a level of 800Kbps? 700Kbps? 600Kbps. This is to provide a practical user-customized service in consideration of the state and performance of the user terminal in providing an adaptive streaming video service.

As described above, the embodiment of the present invention can provide the client with an adaptive streaming video content that is managed adaptively between the client and the content provider (CP) It is possible to improve the quality of experience (QoE) of the client by providing seamless video service to the client by determining the matching adaptive streaming service type or setting the video quality level in consideration of the state of the client terminal, So that the radio resource efficiency can be increased.

The moving picture service method of the present invention, which provides various embodiments as described above, can be implemented as a code that can be executed by a computer on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer- And may include any type of recording device in which data that can be read by the recording device is stored. Such a computer readable recording medium may include, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a ROM, a flash memory, a magnetic storage, and the like, a volatile memory such as a RAM, The computer-executable code or program may be stored in a client terminal (or USIM) according to an embodiment of the present invention, or may be distributedly stored in a networked computer system.

In addition, the application (or applet) capable of performing the moving image service according to the embodiment of the present invention is described as being stored in the client terminal device or the recording medium in the smart card. However, And are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. For example, the above-mentioned information is permanently stored in the virtualization device (or server) on the network, and the client terminal of the multimedia function on which the smart card or the smart card can be mounted is provided with cloud computing, Environment. That is, it should be noted that the above-described information may be stored in a virtualization device on a network, and the information may be used anytime and anywhere through a client terminal that may include a smart card or various forms of multimedia functions.

It should be noted that the applications for moving picture services according to the embodiment of the present invention can be utilized in the field of M2M communication supporting intelligent communication services between objects and objects so that they can be used and managed at any time and place in real time.

200: video service apparatus 202: service management unit
204: traffic attribute analysis unit 206:
208: terminal information analysis unit 210: service type determination unit
212: client DB 214: content DB

Claims (10)

A video service apparatus comprising:
A moving picture converting unit for converting and caching the moving picture contents for each type of a plurality of adaptive streaming services,
A terminal information analyzer for determining whether the client terminal device requesting a video service supports an adaptive streaming service indicating a transmission / reception protocol used when moving picture contents are transmitted / received between the moving picture service device and the client terminal device; ,
And a service type determining unit that determines a type of the adaptive streaming service supported by the client terminal apparatus among the plurality of types of the adaptive streaming service when the client terminal apparatus supports the adaptive streaming service
Video service device. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the moving picture conversion unit comprises:
And converting a bit-rate of the moving picture content
Video service device. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the moving image conversion unit generates the moving image content for each bit rate and then divides the generated moving image content by a predetermined unit
Video service device. The method according to claim 1,
The plurality of adaptive streaming service types comprising:
(Http Live Streaming), SS (Smooth Streaming), or HDS (Http Dynamic Streaming).
Video service device. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the moving picture service apparatus comprises:
And means for differentially setting a video quality level in consideration of the state of the client terminal apparatus
Video service device. A video service method performed by a video service apparatus,
Converting and caching video contents for each of a plurality of types of adaptive streaming services,
Determining whether a client terminal device requesting a video service supports an adaptive streaming service indicating a transmission / reception protocol used when moving picture contents are transmitted / received between the moving picture service device and the client terminal device;
And determining a type of the adaptive streaming service supported by the client terminal apparatus among the plurality of types of the adaptive streaming service when the client terminal apparatus supports the adaptive streaming service
Video service method. The method according to claim 6,
And transmitting the video content to the client terminal device in the determined adaptive streaming service type after the determining step
Video service method. 8. The method of claim 7,
The moving picture contents are differentially set to a predetermined level range according to the state of the client terminal apparatus
Video service method. The method according to claim 6,
Analyzing a traffic attribute of the moving picture content based on the moving picture service response information corresponding to the moving picture service request information from the client terminal apparatus prior to the converting and caching,
Video service method. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the converting comprises:
Converting a bit rate of the moving picture content;
And dividing the video content generated for each of the plurality of bit rates into a predetermined unit after generating the video content for each of a plurality of bit rates
Video service method.

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