KR20000021544A - System for registering service use of video on demand - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A system for registering a service use of a video on demand is provided to easily charge a fee and an analyze a static result of a service according to the use of a service. CONSTITUTION: A system for registering a service use of a video on demand includes a register table(110), a register starting module(120), and a register finishing module(130). The register table includes four fields, wherein a first field is to register an IP address of a subscriber, a second field is to register a service ID, a third field is to register time starting a service, a fourth field is to register time finishing the service. The register starting module is to be called from a predetermined server before a service is begun to register the IP address of a subscriber, a service ID, a time starting a service on the record of the register table. The register finishing module is to be called at the same time as the service finishing, find the record of the register table on which the fourth field is a null using the IP address of the subscriber and the service ID, and register a time finishing service on the fourth field of the found record.

Description

A system for recording present usage conditions of a video on demand service

The present invention relates to a system for implementing a Video On Demand (VOD) service, and more particularly, to an on-demand video service usage recording system which is called from a plurality of servers and records service usage information of a subscriber.

An on-demand video service has been proposed to allow a television viewer to receive information (for example, video information, etc.) on demand at a desired time by using a digital interactive cable television service technology instead of an analog method. .

The system for implementing the on-demand video service includes an information provider consisting of a large capacity server capable of storing and transmitting information, a service provider such as a television station, and a service provider through a network. A delivery system provider for simultaneously delivering the required information to a large number of television users at high speed, and a television user or subscriber using (or using) service information provided from the delivery system provider.

The on-demand video subscriber management system is for efficiently managing a plurality of subscribers in an on-demand video service. A database in which a plurality of different subscriber management systems access a single database server to share the same data and perform operations through a network. Refers to the management system.

On the other hand, a service provider that provides on-demand video services to a plurality of subscribers having at least one server needs to continuously manage service usage record data for each subscriber indicating which service has been used for how long. Such service usage record data is necessary for the operator to charge a fee for the service used by each subscriber, and furthermore, it is essential for the operator to analyze the service usage and set the direction of the business.

However, in the related art, since there is no system capable of recording various types of information on demand video services used by subscribers, it is not possible to charge a fee for services used by subscribers, and there is a problem in that service usage performance of subscribers cannot be analyzed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and uses various services such as subscriber IP (Internet Protocol) address, service ID (ID), service start time and end time of service using a service provided by a predetermined server. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an on-demand video service usage recording system that facilitates an analysis of billing and service usage performance according to service usage by recording the current status in a record table.

In order to achieve the above object, the on-demand video service usage recording system according to the present invention is a system in which a plurality of servers provide on-demand video services to a plurality of subscribers, the first field for recording IP addresses of subscribers using the service. And a second field for recording a service ID that enables the distinction between services, a third field for recording the start time of the service, and a fourth field for recording the end time of the service. Table; A recording start module, which is called immediately before service start from a predetermined server and records the subscriber's IP address, service ID, and service start time in a record of the record table, respectively; Called at the end of service from a given server to find a record in the record table whose fourth field is null using the subscriber's IP address and service ID, and record the service end time in the fourth field of the found record. It is characterized by consisting of a termination module.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an on-demand video service usage recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an on-demand video service usage recording system shown in FIG. 1.

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

10_1 to 10_n: server

100: Video service usage recording system on demand

110: record table 120: record start module

130: recording end module

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

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an on-demand video service usage recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the on-demand video service usage recording system 100 includes a recording table 110, a recording start module 120, and a recording start module 120. And a recording end module 130.

The recording table 110 records an ip field for recording an IP address of a subscriber using a service, a svc_id field for recording a service ID for distinguishing between services, and a start time of a service, as shown in Table 1 below. A plurality of records each include a start_time field and an end_time field for recording an end time of a service.

The ip field is a field for identifying a subscriber using a service among a plurality of subscribers, and a subscriber IP address is recorded in a string format. For example, the subscriber IP address is recorded in the format of "111.111.111.4" or "111.111.111.26".

The svc_id field is a field for identifying a service used among various kinds of services provided by servers, and a service ID is recorded in an integer format. That is, an on-demand video service provider may have 1, 2, 3, 4,... Integer service IDs, such as and the like, may be used to determine which service is used by the subscriber.

The start_time field is a field indicating a time at which a service is started, and a time at which a predetermined server starts providing a predetermined service to a predetermined subscriber is recorded as a date (year / month / day) and a time (hour: minute AM (afternoon)).

The end_time field indicates a time at which the service is terminated. The time when the service is abnormally terminated because the predetermined service provided to the predetermined subscriber by the predetermined server is terminated or an unexpected error occurs is similar to the start_time field. Month / day) and time (hour: minute AM (afternoon)).

ip svc_id start_time end_time 111.111.111.4 2 1998/1/2 8:25 PM 1998/1/2 9:36 PM 111.111.111.26 7 1998/1/2 9:16 PM 1998/1/2 10:06 PM : : : :

The information recorded in the start_time field and the end_time field in Table 1 is an important criterion when charging a fee for using the corresponding service or analyzing the service usage.

In FIG. 1, the recording start module 120 is called immediately before service start from a predetermined server among the n servers 10_1 to 10_n so that the subscriber starts to the ip field, the svc_id field, and the start_time field of the predetermined record of the recording table 110. Record the IP address, service ID, and service start time.

In FIG. 1, the recording end module 130 is called from a predetermined server among n servers 10_1 to 10_n at a service termination time point so that the end_time field is null using the subscriber's IP address and service ID. Find the record of 110) and record the service end time in the end_time field of the found record.

Referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 2, an operation process of an on-demand video service usage recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention configured as described above is as follows.

First, when each server 10_1 to 10_n receives a service request from a legitimate subscriber, the server 10_1 to 10_n calls the recording start module 120 of the on-demand video service usage recording system 100 immediately before providing the service to the subscriber and receives the subscriber's IP address. The value (@ip) and the service ID value (@svc_id) are transmitted to the recording start module 120.

When the recording start module 120 is called from a predetermined server (S201), the recording start module 120 records the IP address (@ip) and service ID value (@svc_id) and service start time of the subscriber received from the calling server. To record the ip field, the svc_id field, and the start_time field, the following SQL (Standard Query Language) query 1 is executed.

SQL query 1:

INSERT o_usage (ip, svc_id, start_time) VALUES (@ ip, @ svc_id, GETDATE ())

That is, the recording start module 120 records the IP address value (@ip) and service ID value (@svc_id) of the subscriber received from the calling server in the ip field and the svc_id field of the recording table 110, and at the same time, The time GETDATE () is recorded in the start_time field of the same record (S202).

Thereafter, the predetermined server calls the recording end module 130 of the on-demand video service usage recording system 100 when the service is terminated by the subscriber who was being provided with the service or an unexpected error occurs during the service. Then, the IP address value (@ip) of the subscriber whose service is terminated and the ID value (@svc_id) of the corresponding service are transmitted to the recording end module 130.

When the recording end module 130 is called from a predetermined server (S203), the end_time field is null by using the subscriber's IP address value (@ip) received from the calling server and the ID value (@svc_id) of the corresponding service. In order to find the record of the record table 110, and to record the service end time in the end_time field of the found record, the following SQL query 2 is executed.

SQL query 2:

UPDATE o_usage SET end_time = GETDATE () ---- (1)

WHERE ip = @ ip AND svc_id = @ svc_id AND end_time = NULL ---- (2)

That is, the recording end module 130 is a condition that the service end time (end_time) is null along with the IP address (@ip) and the ID value (@svc_id) of the subscriber received from the calling server By searching for a record that satisfies ((2) of the SQL query) (S204) and recording the current time in the end_time field of the found record (S205), the service end time is eventually recorded in the end_time field.

When the service usage information of the plurality of subscribers is recorded in the recording table 110 by repeating the steps S201 to S205, the on-demand video service provider can easily and efficiently provide the subscribers with the services provided from the servers 10_1 to 10_n owned by them. You can charge a fee.

For example, the service ID information recorded in the svc_id field of the recording table 110 is used to find out the type of service used by the subscriber, and the total service start time and end time information recorded in the start_time and end_time fields are used. After calculating the service usage time (service end time-service start time), the service usage fee is calculated by multiplying the unit price per hour of the service by the total service usage time, and then the subscriber ip recorded in the ip field of the recording table 110. Get the address information and bill the subscriber for service.

In addition, the on-demand video service provider may analyze the usage history of each service based on the service usage data recorded in the recording table 110 to determine which service is popular with subscribers and may seek future business directions. .

As described above, the present invention efficiently records the use status of various on-demand video services at an appropriate time so that the on-demand video service provider can charge the service usage fee accurately and efficiently later, and furthermore, the operator can determine the business direction. It has the effect of providing a statistical basis for this.

Claims (1)

What is claimed is: 1. A system in which multiple servers provide video on demand services to multiple subscribers. A first field for recording the IP address of the subscriber using the service, a second field for recording the service ID for enabling the distinction between services, a third field for recording the start time of the service, and an end time for the service A recording table having a plurality of records comprising a fourth field; A recording start module, which is called immediately before service start from a predetermined server and records the subscriber's IP address, service ID, and service start time in a record of the record table, respectively; Called at the end of service from a given server to find a record in the record table whose fourth field is null using the subscriber's IP address and service ID, and record the service end time in the fourth field of the found record. On-demand video service usage recording system, characterized in that consisting of a termination module.