KR102429225B1 - Method and device for transmitting remote screens - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a remote screen transmission device. The apparatus includes a communication unit, a storage unit, and a processor operatively connected to the communication unit and the storage unit, wherein the processor receives a plurality of service image frames from a broadcast channel and sequentially receives a first service image frame and a changed area in the second service image frame, obtain a changed area in the second service image frame according to the confirmation result, separate an image and an alpha channel from the obtained changed area, and divide the separated image and an alpha channel configured to transmit to a user device.

Description

REMOTE SCREEN TRANSMISSION METHOD AND DEVICE

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for transmitting a remote screen.

With the rapid development of the Internet, communication speed has been rapidly improved, and accordingly, the capacity of applications providing various services is increasing, and standard specifications for driving applications are increasing.

In general, low-spec client devices such as set-top boxes that provide IPTV services have difficulty in processing large-capacity images and applications, so the data is processed through the cloud server, and the client device plays only the processed result screen Therefore, a cloud streaming service that has the same effect as if data was processed in one's own device is in the spotlight.

The cloud streaming service basically uses a video codec-based cloud streaming technique. Even when a static screen such as a menu display is provided, the entire screen is unnecessarily captured and operated using the video codec, which is inefficient. do.

The description underlying the invention has been prepared to facilitate understanding of the invention. It should not be construed as an admission that the matters described in the background technology of the invention exist as prior art.

There is a need for a technology that can minimize the amount of data transmitted and received between the remote screen transmission device and the user device while providing a service screen to be transmitted to a client device (hereinafter referred to as a user device) and reduce the amount of computation between the remote screen transmission device and the user device. do.

Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention developed a method and a device for performing the same by dividing the service screen and reducing the size of the divided individual image files, thereby reducing the amount of computation of the user device in the process of providing the service screen and increasing the streaming speed wanted to

As a result, the inventors of the present invention select a specific color for composing an image through alpha channel and color information analysis in the divided individual image file, and readjust the color of the entire image to maintain the shape of the image but not its size. We have come to develop a method and device that can reduce it.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to solve the above problems, there is provided a remote screen transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device may include: a communication unit; a storage; and a processor operatively connected to the communication unit and the storage unit. Including, wherein the processor receives a plurality of service image frames from a broadcast channel, checks a changed region in the sequentially received first service image frame and the second service image frame, and according to a result of the confirmation, the second service and acquire a changed region in the image frame, separate an image and an alpha channel from the acquired changed region, and send the separated image and alpha channel to the user device.

According to a feature of the present invention, the processor may be configured to divide the image into a plurality of regions, and to adjust a color value or a transparency value of a pixel for each of the plurality of regions.

According to another feature of the present invention, the processor may be configured to adjust a color value of the pixel to an index color value.

According to another feature of the present invention, the processor counts the number of colors for each of the plurality of areas, determines an area with the largest number of colors as a reference area, and includes a plurality of second products arranged in order along the periphery of the reference area. It may be configured to reduce the number of colors in the first to Nth regions (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) according to preset different adjustment ratios.

According to another feature of the present invention, the adjustment ratio may have a smaller value as the distance from the reference region increases.

According to another feature of the present invention, the processor may be configured to determine whether a ratio of the number of colors of each of the plurality of first regions to the number of colors of the reference region is included in a preset range.

According to another feature of the present invention, the processor may be configured to decrease the number of colors of the corresponding first region when the ratio is included in a preset range according to a determination result.

According to another feature of the present invention, the processor may be configured to maintain the number of colors of the corresponding first region when the ratio is not included in a preset range according to a determination result.

According to another feature of the present invention, when there are two or more reference regions and some regions of a plurality of first to N-th regions formed according to each reference region overlap, the processor is configured to It may be configured to calculate an average value of the set adjustment ratio, and decrease the number of colors based on the calculated average value.

According to another feature of the present invention, the processor may be configured to adjust the transparency value only to an area to which a color value is adjusted among the plurality of areas.

In order to solve the above problems, there is provided a remote screen transmission method according to another embodiment of the present invention. The method is a remote screen transmission method performed by a processor of a remote screen transmission device, comprising the steps of receiving a plurality of service video frames on a broadcast channel, and changing the sequentially received first service video frame and second service video frame. Checking the region, acquiring the changed region in the second service image frame according to the confirmation result, separating the image and the alpha channel from the acquired changed region, and transmitting the separated image and the alpha channel to the user device is configured to include

According to a feature of the present invention, the separating may further include dividing the image into a plurality of regions, and adjusting a color value or a transparency value of a pixel for each of the plurality of regions.

According to another feature of the present invention, the adjusting may include adjusting a color value of the pixel to an index color value.

According to another feature of the present invention, the adjusting may include counting the number of colors for each of the plurality of areas, determining an area having the largest number of colors as a reference area, and sequentially arranged along the circumference of the reference area. The method may further include reducing the number of colors in the plurality of first to Nth regions (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) according to preset different adjustment ratios.

According to another feature of the present invention, the step of reducing according to the different ratios may have a smaller value as the distance from the reference region increases.

According to another feature of the present invention, in the step of reducing according to the different ratios, it is determined whether the ratio of the number of colors of each of the plurality of first regions is within a preset range based on the number of colors of the reference region. It may further include the step of

According to another feature of the present invention, after the determining, the method may further include, according to a determination result, reducing the number of colors of the corresponding first area when the ratio is within a preset range.

According to another feature of the present invention, after the determining, when the ratio is not included in a preset range according to a determination result, the method may further include maintaining the number of colors in the first area. .

According to another feature of the present invention, when there are two or more reference regions and some regions of a plurality of first to N-th regions formed according to each reference region overlap each other, reducing the reference regions according to the different ratios may further include calculating an average value of the adjustment ratio set in the overlapping partial region, and reducing the number of colors based on the calculated average value.

According to another feature of the present invention, the adjusting may further include adjusting the transparency value only for an area to which a color value is adjusted among the plurality of areas.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

The present invention minimizes the amount of data provided by the remote screen transmission device, thereby reducing the computational burden of a user device (set-top box) that views content or receives an Internet service, and can increase streaming speed. In this case, damage to the service screen can be prevented by separating the image and the alpha channel only for the changed area on the service screen.

In addition, according to the present invention, by dividing the separated image into a plurality of regions and adjusting the number of colors constituting the divided image according to a preset criterion, it is possible to reduce the size of data and minimize distortion of the image. Here, by adjusting the number of colors only in the changed screen area even within the separated image, the sense of heterogeneity due to the adjustment of the number of colors can be minimized.

In addition, the present invention can implement a service screen even in a low-spec user device, to use the cloud streaming service, it is possible to save the cost of replacing the existing user device and the cost of implementing the entire system.

The effect according to the present invention is not limited by the contents exemplified above, and more various effects are included in the present invention.

1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an outline of a method for transmitting a remote screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic diagram of a remote screen transmission system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a remote screen transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for transmitting a remote screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process of dividing a remote screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6A and 6B are schematic diagrams for explaining a process of adjusting a color of an area in a remote screen transmission process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and a method of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in a variety of different forms, and only these embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains It is provided to fully inform the possessor of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. In connection with the description of the drawings, like reference numerals may be used for like components.

In this document, expressions such as "has," "may have," "includes," or "may include" refer to the presence of a corresponding characteristic (eg, a numerical value, function, operation, or component such as a part). and does not exclude the presence of additional features.

In this document, expressions such as "A or B," "at least one of A or/and B," or "one or more of A or/and B" may include all possible combinations of the items listed together. . For example, "A or B," "at least one of A and B," or "at least one of A or B" means (1) includes at least one A, (2) includes at least one B; Or (3) it may refer to all cases including both at least one A and at least one B.

As used herein, expressions such as "first," "second," "first," or "second," may modify various elements, regardless of order and/or importance, and refer to one element. It is used only to distinguish it from other components, and does not limit the components. For example, the first user equipment and the second user equipment may represent different user equipment regardless of order or importance. For example, without departing from the scope of the rights described in this document, the first component may be named as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be renamed as the first component.

A component (eg, a first component) is "coupled with/to (operatively or communicatively)" to another component (eg, a second component) When referring to "connected to", it should be understood that the certain element may be directly connected to the other element or may be connected through another element (eg, a third element). On the other hand, when it is said that a component (eg, a first component) is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component (eg, a second component), the component and the It may be understood that other components (eg, a third component) do not exist between other components.

As used herein, the expression "configured to (or configured to)" depends on the context, for example, "suitable for," "having the capacity to ," "designed to," "adapted to," "made to," or "capable of." The term “configured (or configured to)” may not necessarily mean only “specifically designed to” in hardware. Instead, in some circumstances, the expression “a device configured to” may mean that the device is “capable of” with other devices or parts. For example, the phrase "a processor configured (or configured to perform) A, B, and C" refers to a dedicated processor (eg, an embedded processor) for performing the operations, or by executing one or more software programs stored in a memory device. , may mean a generic-purpose processor (eg, a CPU or an application processor) capable of performing corresponding operations.

Terms used in this document are only used to describe specific embodiments, and may not be intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. The singular expression may include the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art described in this document. Among the terms used in this document, terms defined in a general dictionary may be interpreted with the same or similar meaning to the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in this document, ideal or excessively formal meanings is not interpreted as In some cases, even terms defined in this document cannot be construed to exclude embodiments of this document.

Each feature of the various embodiments of the present invention may be partially or wholly combined or combined with each other, and as those skilled in the art will fully understand, technically various interlocking and driving are possible, and each embodiment may be implemented independently of each other. It may be possible to implement together in a related relationship.

For clarity of interpretation of the present specification, terms used herein will be defined below.

1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an outline of a method for transmitting a remote screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the remote screen transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention remotely transmits a service screen processed in a cloud environment, but may process only a changed area image in order to transmit it more efficiently. Specifically, the remote screen transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention can capture only a changed area on a remote screen to be provided in real time, and then separate it into an image and an alpha channel indicating transparency. Here, the image may be a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) file that does not include an alpha channel, and various types of file extensions that do not include an alpha channel in addition to the jpeg extension may be applied to this method.

As described above, the remote screen transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention separates an alpha channel essential for transmitting a service screen on a broadcast screen, reduces the file size for implementing the service screen, and reduces the user's display device (not shown). It is possible to reduce the load of the set-top box 10 that provides it in real time.

Meanwhile, in the present invention, the service screen overlaid on the broadcast screen may be a screen containing various additional information that may be provided according to the user's manipulation of the broadcast screen or the user's broadcast viewing pattern and tendency. For example, the additional information may contain content promoting specific content or a product, and may be expressed in various forms such as text, images, and videos.

2 is a schematic diagram of a remote screen transmission system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the remote screen transmission system 1000 may include a plurality of set-top boxes 10 , a remote screen transmission apparatus 100 , and a service providing server 200 .

The set-top box 10 may be connected to a display device to provide various service screens to the display device. Specifically, the set-top box 10 provides an image and an alpha channel from the remote screen transmission device 100 while providing a broadcast channel or VOD content selected by the user through a broadcasting station server (not shown) or a content providing server (not shown). can receive The set-top box 10 may decode the received image, reflect the alpha channel data in the decoded image, overlay one service screen on the currently provided screen, and transmit it to the display device.

Meanwhile, the set-top box 10 may transmit data obtained by a user's manipulation to the service providing server 200 , which may be utilized to provide a service screen. According to an embodiment, data may be transmitted through the remote screen transmission device 100 .

The remote screen transmission device 100 is a device that converts a service screen to be delivered to a plurality of set-top boxes 10 into a minimum file size and transmits it, and may include various electronic devices such as a PC, a tablet PC, and a data server. . The remote screen transmission device 100 checks whether a broadcast channel is being provided to the user through the set-top box 10, and when the broadcast channel is being provided, a service screen separated into an image and an alpha channel is displayed on the corresponding set-top box 10. can be sent to

That is, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention separates the service screen into an image and an alpha channel to reduce the service screen file size while minimizing the burden on the device for reducing the file size. can be treated as a file of

In addition, in order to further reduce the size of data transmitted to the set-top box 10 , the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may divide the service screen into a plurality of areas and adjust the number of colors for each divided area. That is, when the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 views the entire area of one service screen, it is possible to adjust unnecessary colors while leaving only the colors necessary to recognize an image, and a detailed method of adjusting the colors will be described later.

According to an embodiment, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may adjust the service screen to 256 colors, and may use various color systems such as RGB, HSV, YUV, YCgCo, and YCbCr.

On the other hand, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may transmit a service screen that changes in real time according to a user's manipulation to the set-top box 10. If only a part of the service screen changes, the entire service screen is displayed with an image and an alpha A process of separating and transmitting channels may be inefficient. Accordingly, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may check the changed area in the sequential service screen transmitted to the set-top box 10 , and separate only the changed area into an image and an alpha channel. In addition, the number of colors can be adjusted by dividing the image into multiple regions within it.

The service providing server 200 is a server that provides various services such as a product purchase service, an information provision service, and an advertisement provision service to users, and may include various electronic devices such as a PC, a tablet PC, and a data server. The service providing server 200 receives data obtained by a user's manipulation for each set-top box 10 through the set-top box 10 or the remote screen transmission device 20, and provides a service suitable for the user accordingly. can do.

According to an embodiment, the service providing server 200 may include a broadcasting station server, a content distribution server, an OTT service providing server, and an advertisement content providing server. For example, the broadcasting station server may be a server operated by a terrestrial, airwave, or cable broadcasting station, and the content distribution server is a mobile communication company that produces and sells contents such as MNO (Mobile Network Operator) and MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). It may be a server that operates, and the OTT service providing server may be a server operated by a video sharing company such as YouTube or a server operated by a content service producer such as Netflix, and the advertisement content providing server It may be a server operated by an advertising company that produces/sells.

So far, the remote screen transmission system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described. According to the present invention, the remote screen transmission device 100 transmits the service screen to the set-top box 10 by minimizing the file size of the service screen, and the set-top box 10 decodes the received service screen image and overlays it on the broadcast channel. By doing so, the burden on the set-top box 10 and the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 for processing the service screen can be minimized.

Hereinafter, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 that further minimizes the file size of the service screen will be described in detail.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a remote screen transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may include a communication unit 110 , a storage unit 120 , and a processor 130 .

The communication unit 110 may send and receive data to and from a plurality of set-top boxes 10 and the service providing server 200 through a wired/wireless network. For example, the communication unit 110 may transmit an image and alpha channel data for a service screen for each of the plurality of set-top boxes 10 , and may receive data to be used for providing a service screen from the set-top box 10 . . However, here, the communication unit 110 checks whether the corresponding set-top box 10 is transmitting the broadcast channel, and only for the set-top box 10 that transmits the broadcast channel, the service screen is separated into two, an image and an alpha channel. have. In addition, an image to be transmitted to the set-top box 10 through the communication unit 110 may be transmitted with a partial region divided and color adjusted according to whether the size or information of the image is changed.

For another example, the communication unit 110 may transmit data to be used for providing a service screen to the service providing server 200 , and may receive a service screen from the service providing server 200 .

The storage unit 120 may store various reference data for segmenting an image and adjusting a color. Specifically, the storage unit 120 may store differently the number of divided areas for adjusting the color according to 1) the size of the service screen, 2) the size of the changed area in the service screen, and 3) the resolution of the service screen. Star adjustment ratio can be saved. For example, when the resolution of the service screen is 1920x1080, the storage unit 120 divides the service screen into a total of 288 (24 horizontally, 12 vertical pieces), and can store information on the number of divided areas, , when the resolution of the service screen is 1280x720, information on the number of divided areas can be stored by dividing the corresponding service screen into a total of 144 (16 horizontally and 9 vertical). That is, 1) the size of the service screen, 2) the larger the size of the changed area in the service screen, the larger the number of divided areas, 3) the higher the service screen is, the more the number of divided areas can be, and the storage unit 120 stores colors for each type. information on the number of partitions for adjusting the .

Also, the storage unit 120 may store an adjustment ratio for adjusting the color of each area based on the number of divided areas. For example, if the storage unit 120 reduces the color of one reference area by 15%, the color of the adjacent area is reduced by 10%, and the color of the next adjacent area is reduced by 5%, etc. Adjustment ratio can be saved.

In addition, the number of divided regions and the color adjustment ratio are data received from an administrator through an input unit (not shown), and may be stored in the storage unit 120 .

In various embodiments, the storage unit 120 may include a volatile or non-volatile recording medium capable of storing various data, commands, and information. For example, the storage unit 120 is a flash memory type, hard disk type, multimedia card micro type, card type memory (SD, XD memory, etc.), RAM, SRAM, ROM, EEPROM, PROM, network storage storage, cloud , it may include a storage medium of at least one type of the block chain database.

Also, the storage unit 120 may record commands for the operation of the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 . In various embodiments, an application (not shown) for separating a service screen and adjusting an image color may be recorded in the storage unit 120 .

The processor 130 is operably connected to the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 120 to control the overall operation of the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 , and drives an application or program stored in the storage unit 120 . Accordingly, various commands for separating the service screen and adjusting the number of colors for each area can be performed.

The processor 130 may correspond to a computing device such as a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP). In addition, the processor 130 may be implemented in the form of an integrated chip (IC) such as a system on chip (SoC) in which various computing devices are integrated.

According to an embodiment, the processor 130 receives a plurality of service image frames to be provided on a broadcast channel from the service providing server 200 through the communication unit 110, and checks a changed area in the service image frames received sequentially. , depending on the result, you can separate the changed area into an image and an alpha channel. The separated image and the alpha channel may be transmitted to the corresponding set-top box 10 through the communication unit 110 .

In addition to separating the changed region into the image and the alpha channel, the processor 130 may divide the image into a plurality of regions and adjust a color value or a transparency value of a pixel for each of the plurality of regions. Specifically, the processor 130 may divide the number of divided regions stored in the storage 120 according to the size of the changed region, and the number of color values to be adjusted for each region is the number of index color values (eg, 256). color or more).

Meanwhile, the processor 130 may designate a reference region for adjusting the number of colors in order to minimize a sense of heterogeneity between regions in the process of adjusting the number of colors for each region. According to an embodiment, the processor 130 may count the number of colors for each of the plurality of regions, determine the region with the largest number of colors as the reference region, and a plurality of first to second regions sequentially arranged along the periphery of the reference region. The number of colors in the N region (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) may be reduced according to preset different adjustment ratios. In addition, the adjustment ratio may have a smaller value as the distance from the reference region increases. For example, the processor 130 may reduce the color value of the reference region by 20%, reduce the number of colors in the first region surrounding the reference region by 18%, and increase the number of colors in the second region surrounding the first region can be reduced by 15%.

Here, if there are two or more reference regions, and accordingly, when the n-th region in the first reference region and the m-th region in the second reference region overlap, the processor 130 determines the adjustment ratio specified for the n-th region and An average value of the adjustment ratio specified in the m-th region may be calculated, and the number of colors in the corresponding region may be reduced based on the calculated average value.

That is, the processor 130 may adjust the number of colors in the surrounding area in stages around at least one area in which the number of colors should be greatly reduced, thereby minimizing the sense of heterogeneity of the image according to the color adjustment.

In addition, the processor 130 reduces the number of colors according to the adjustment ratio specified for each area in order to minimize the heterogeneity of the image due to the color adjustment, but determines whether to adjust the color of the corresponding area in consideration of the difference in the number of colors with the adjacent area. can Specifically, the processor 130 determines whether a ratio of the number of colors of each of the plurality of first regions arranged along the circumference of the reference region is within a preset range based on the number of colors of the reference region, and according to the determination result, the first region You can decide whether to adjust the number of colors of In other words, when the difference in the number of colors between the reference area and the first area most adjacent to the reference area is markedly displayed, the processor 130 may maintain the number of colors without adjusting the number of colors even in the most adjacent area. Here, the preset range may be 0.5:1 or more and 1:1 or less when calculated as in the corresponding formula (the number of colors in the first region/the number of colors in the reference region), and the value may be adjusted by the administrator. .

When the ratio calculated according to the determination result of the processor 130 is included in the preset range, the processor 130 may reduce the number of colors in the first area to match the specified adjustment ratio, and vice versa. If it is not included in the set range, the processor 130 may maintain the number of colors of the corresponding first area.

In addition, in an embodiment of the present invention, the processor 130 determines whether to adjust the number of colors using the ratio between the reference region and the first region, but is not limited thereto, and the first region and the second region, the second region and the second region After calculating the ratio of the number of colors between the three regions, it may be determined whether to adjust the number of colors in the next adjacent region according to the calculated result.

Meanwhile, the processor 130 may adjust the transparency value only for the color-adjusted region among the plurality of regions. For example, the processor 130 may increase the transparency value in an area having a high adjustment ratio in order to reduce the heterogeneity of the area where the number of colors is adjusted, and vice versa, in the case of an area having a low adjustment ratio, the transparency value can be lowered.

On the other hand, in the case of the service image frame to be provided first, the processor 130 omits the process of confirming the changed area, separates the entire service image frame into an image and an alpha channel, and then sends it to the set-top box ( 10) can be sent. In addition, after dividing the image of the service image frame to be first provided into a plurality of the specified number of colors, the number of colors may be adjusted for each region.

So far, the remote screen control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described. According to the present invention, the remote screen control apparatus 100 divides the separated image into a plurality of regions in order to minimize the size of the file in the process of transmitting the service image frame, and sets the number of colors constituting the divided image to a preset number. By adjusting according to the standard, the distortion of the image can be minimized while reducing the size of the data. Here, by adjusting the number of colors only in the changed screen area even within the separated image, the sense of heterogeneity due to the adjustment of the number of colors can be minimized.

Hereinafter, a method of transmitting a remote screen, that is, a service screen, to the set-top box 10 through the remote screen control apparatus 100 will be described.

4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for transmitting a remote screen according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process of dividing a remote screen according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 6A and 6B is a schematic diagram for explaining a process of adjusting a color of an area in a remote screen transmission process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 4 , the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 receives a plurality of service image frames to be provided on a broadcast channel from the service providing server 200 ( S110 ), and a region changed from the sequentially received service image frames. is confirmed (S120). In other words, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may check the changed regions in the sequentially received first service image frame and second service image frame. If a plurality of service video frames are received for the first time, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 omits the process of checking the changed area, separates the entire service video frame into an image and an alpha channel, and then You can send to box 10 .

When it is confirmed in step S120 that the changed region exists, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 acquires the changed region in the second service image frame by a capture method, and separates the image and the alpha channel from the acquired changed region (S130) ). Here, the image may be a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) file that does not include an alpha channel, and various types of file extensions that do not include an alpha channel in addition to the jpeg extension may be applied to this method.

After step S130, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 transmits the separated image and the alpha channel to the set-top box 10 using the remote screen service (S140). Through such file separation, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 can immediately transmit a service image frame that changes rapidly in real time to the set-top box 10 . In addition, it is possible to minimize the computational burden in the process of the set-top box 10 decoding the received image and reflecting the alpha channel data in the decoded image.

On the other hand, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may divide the image into a plurality of regions, and adjust a color value or a transparency value of a pixel for each of the plurality of regions, in addition to separating the changed region into an image and an alpha channel.

In this regard, referring to FIG. 5 , the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may divide the number of pre-stored divided regions according to the changed size of the region. According to an embodiment, the number of pre-stored divided areas (M horizontal, N vertical, M and N are natural numbers greater than or equal to 2) is 1) the size of the service screen, 2) the size of the changed area in the service screen, 3) the service screen may be different depending on the resolution of

However, in consideration of a situation in which image distortion or heterogeneity occurs when adjusting a color value or a transparency value, the remote screen transmission device 100 divides the image into a plurality of pieces, and then can designate a reference area for adjusting the number of colors. have. Specifically, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may count the number of colors for each of the plurality of areas, determine the area with the largest number of colors as the reference area, and a plurality of first areas to sequentially arranged along the circumference of the reference area. The number of colors in the second area (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) may be reduced according to preset different adjustment ratios. For example, if one area at the lower right of FIG. 5 is the reference area, the area surrounding the reference area may be the first area, and the area surrounding the first area may be the second area, and each area is different from each other. It can have an adjustment ratio.

Referring to FIG. 6A , as the distance from the reference area increases, the color number adjustment ratio of each area may decrease. That is, the color number adjustment ratio of the first area may be 10%, and the color number adjustment ratio of the second area may be 5%.

In addition, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 reduces the number of colors according to the adjustment ratio specified for each area in order to minimize the sense of heterogeneity of the image due to color adjustment, but selects the color of the corresponding area in consideration of the difference in the number of colors with the adjacent area. You can decide whether to adjust. Specifically, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 determines whether a ratio of the number of colors in each of the plurality of first regions arranged along the circumference of the reference region is included in a preset range based on the number of colors in the reference region, and according to the determination result, It may be determined whether to adjust the number of colors of the first area.

When the ratio calculated according to the determination result of the remote screen transmission device 100 is included in the preset range, the remote screen transmission device 100 may reduce the number of colors in the first area to match the specified adjustment ratio, Conversely, when the calculated ratio is not included in the preset range, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may maintain the number of colors of the corresponding first area.

For example, in FIG. 6 , the first regions having the number of colors 95, 93, 87, and 70 belonging to a preset range (0.5:1 or more and 1:1 or less) based on the number of colors 100 of the reference region are adjusted according to the adjustment ratio. The number of colors may be adjusted to 85, 83, 78, and 63, and the number of colors of the first regions having the number of colors 21, 19, 18, and 42 that do not fall within a preset range may not be adjusted and may be maintained.

In addition, in an embodiment of the present invention, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 determines whether to adjust the number of colors using the ratio between the reference area and the first area, but is not limited thereto, and the first area, the second area, and the second area After calculating the ratio of the number of colors between the region and the third region, it may be determined whether to adjust the number of colors of the next adjacent region according to the calculated result. For example, when comparing the number of colors of the first region and the second region in FIG. 6 , the 93/15 region having a large difference in the number of colors, that is, the second region having the number of 15 colors, may maintain the number of colors. .

On the other hand, when the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 counts the number of colors, and the reference area becomes two or more and the n-th area in the first reference area and the m-th area in the second reference area overlap, the remote screen The transmission device 100 may calculate an average value of the adjustment ratio specified in the n-th region and the adjustment ratio specified in the m-th region, and reduce the number of colors in the corresponding region based on the calculated average value.

In this regard, referring to FIG. 6B , the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 includes an area where the 1-1 area and the 2-2 area overlap, and the area where the 1-2 area and the 2-1 area overlap. The color number adjustment ratio may be calculated as (adjustment ratio of the first area + adjustment ratio of the second area/2), and the number of colors in the corresponding area may be reduced according to the calculated average value.

Meanwhile, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may adjust the transparency value only for the color-adjusted area among the plurality of areas. For example, the remote screen transmission apparatus 100 may increase the transparency value in an area having a high adjustment ratio in order to reduce a sense of heterogeneity in an area where the number of colors is adjusted, and vice versa. In this case, the transparency value may be lowered.

So far, a method for transmitting a remote screen according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described. According to the present invention, the remote screen transmission device 100 minimizes the amount of data to be transmitted to the set-top box 10 , thereby reducing the computational burden of the user device viewing content or receiving Internet services and increasing the streaming speed. .

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments, and various modifications may be made within the scope without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. . Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, but to explain, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The protection scope of the present invention should be construed by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent range should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

1000: remote screen transmission system
10: set-top box
100: remote screen transmission device
110: communication department
120: storage
130: processor
200: service providing server

Claims (20)

communication department;
storage; and
a processor operatively connected to the communication unit and the storage unit; including,
The processor is
Receive a plurality of service video frames from a broadcast channel,
Checking the changed area in the sequentially received first service image frame and the second service image frame,
Obtaining a changed region in the second service image frame according to the confirmation result, and separating an image and an alpha channel from the acquired changed region,
dividing the separated image into a plurality of regions, counting the number of colors for each of the plurality of regions, determining the region with the largest number of colors as a reference region,
In the separated image, the number of colors of a plurality of first to N-th regions (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) disposed adjacent to the reference region in the separated image is reduced according to preset different adjustment ratios, and the reference region and the plurality of By adjusting the transparency value of the alpha channel corresponding to the first region to the N-th region of
and send to the user device the image with the color number adjusted and the alpha channel with the transparency value adjusted. delete According to claim 1,
The processor is
and adjusting a color value of a pixel to an index color value for each of the plurality of regions. delete According to claim 1,
The adjustment ratio is
A remote screen transmission device having a smaller value as it moves away from the reference area. According to claim 1,
The processor is
and determine whether a ratio of the number of colors of each of the plurality of first regions is within a preset range based on the number of colors of the reference region. 7. The method of claim 6,
The processor is
and, when the ratio falls within a preset range according to a determination result, the number of colors of the corresponding first area is reduced. 7. The method of claim 6,
The processor is
The remote screen transmitting apparatus is configured to maintain the number of colors of the corresponding first area when the ratio does not fall within a preset range according to a determination result. According to claim 1,
When there are two or more reference regions, and some regions of a plurality of first to N-th regions formed according to each reference region overlap,
The processor is
A remote screen transmission device, configured to calculate an average value of an adjustment ratio set in an overlapping partial region, and reduce the number of colors based on the calculated average value. According to claim 1,
The processor is
The remote screen transmission apparatus is configured to adjust the transparency value only for the area to which the color value is adjusted among the plurality of areas. A remote screen transmission method performed by a processor of a remote screen transmission device, comprising:
receiving a plurality of service image frames from a broadcast channel;
checking a changed region in the sequentially received first service image frame and the second service image frame;
obtaining a changed region in the second service image frame according to a confirmation result, and separating an image and an alpha channel from the acquired changed region;
dividing the separated image into a plurality of regions, counting the number of colors for each of the plurality of regions, and determining the region with the largest number of colors as a reference region;
The number of colors of a plurality of first to Nth regions (N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) disposed adjacent to the reference region is reduced according to preset different adjustment ratios, and the reference region and the plurality of first regions to adjusting the transparency value of the alpha channel corresponding to the Nth region; and
transmitting the image with the color number adjusted and the alpha channel with the transparency value adjusted to the user device; A remote screen transmission method comprising a. delete 12. The method of claim 11,
The adjusting step is
The step of adjusting the color value of the pixel to the index color value for each of the plurality of regions, the remote screen transmission method. delete 12. The method of claim 11,
The adjusting step is
A remote screen transmission method having a smaller value as the distance from the reference area increases. 12. The method of claim 11,
The adjusting step is
and determining whether a ratio of the number of colors of each of the plurality of first regions is within a preset range based on the number of colors of the reference region. 17. The method of claim 16,
After the step of determining,
according to the determination result, when the ratio is included in the preset range, reducing the number of colors in the first area. 17. The method of claim 16,
After the step of determining,
According to the determination result, if the ratio is not included in the preset range, maintaining the number of colors in the first area; 12. The method of claim 11,
When there are two or more reference regions, and some regions of a plurality of first to N-th regions formed according to each reference region overlap,
The adjusting step is
Calculating the average value of the adjustment ratio set in the overlapping partial area, and reducing the number of colors based on the calculated average value. 12. The method of claim 11,
The adjusting step is
and adjusting the transparency value only for the area to which the color value is adjusted among the plurality of areas.

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