KR20010106890A - Remote reservation system and method for dynamic image contents distributed via a satellite - Google Patents

Abstract

Remote booking, which allows users to search for information about video content, such as real-time digital broadcast programs and video on demand (VOD), available via satellite, via the Internet's web site and to schedule desired content. Systems and methods are provided.

The remote reservation system according to the present invention comprises a means for editing and storing video content related information in various formats of the video content in a predetermined format, and displaying the stored video content related information to a user and displaying a predetermined video from the user. Means for providing a web site to receive a reservation related request for content and a reservation control command for controlling a set top box reservation function of the user in response to the reservation related request input from the user; Means for transmitting to the set-top box.

Description

REMOTE RESERVATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC IMAGE CONTENTS DISTRIBUTED VIA A SATELLITE}

The present invention relates to a system and method for remote reservation of video content. Specifically, the video content remote reservation enables a user to search for information on video content provided via satellite through a website of the Internet and to reserve desired content. System and method.

Recently, two-way digital satellite broadcasting services that can provide a variety of contents through satellite channels by introducing a technique called digital beyond the existing unidirectional analog broadcasting framework are being launched or prepared in various countries around the world. In addition, Video On Demand (VOD) service providers are also launching or preparing services to provide various video contents to users by receiving satellite channels from satellite operators. The user may be provided with digital broadcasting or VOD service transmitted through satellite using a digital TV equipped with a set-top box.

As the number of satellite channels increases, the user may have difficulty in selecting his or her desired content from the numerous contents delivered through the multiple channels. Thus, in order to facilitate the user's choice of desired content, broadcasters or VOD service providers may use electronic program guide (EPG) information, including content delivery channels, delivery times and plots, through separate satellite channels. To the set-top box.

By searching the EPG information on a digital TV screen equipped with a set-top box, users can easily find out which broadcasting program is being broadcast on which day or about one week later, and which video is supplied by which VOD service provider. . If a desired program or video is designated, more detailed information can be obtained than in the list, and if necessary, a reservation for viewing a desired program or a scheduled recording of a video can also be applied.

However, to date, viewers can receive EPG data only through the screen of a digital TV equipped with a set-top box, and reserve a desired program or video by operating a remote control of the digital TV. However, in the present invention described below, the viewer can search for EPG data and make a reservation for a desired program through the Internet, thereby eliminating the constraint that the reservation must be made only through the set-top box.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a remote reservation system and method that allows a user to retrieve EPG data associated with video content and reserve certain video content via the Internet.

Another object of the present invention is to search the EPG data related to the video content through the Internet and to reserve the predetermined video content by transmitting the user's reservation information to the set-top box of the viewer via satellite, the user has reserved The present invention provides a remote reservation system and method for allowing content to be viewed at a desired time.

1 is a structural diagram of a digital satellite broadcasting system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 conceptually shows the configuration of the information transmitting apparatus 138 shown in FIG.

3 illustrates one embodiment of the EPG database 134 shown in FIG.

4 illustrates one embodiment of the set-top box control database 136 shown in FIG.

5 is a view showing a file structure stored in the hard disk of the set-top box 140.

Figure 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a video content remote reservation system according to the present invention.

7 is a diagram illustrating detailed functions of the website operation module 620 according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the user information DB 650 shown in FIG.

9 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the reservation information DB 660 shown in FIG.

10 is a flowchart illustrating interaction between a website operation module 620 and a user according to the present invention.

Figure 11 illustrates one embodiment of an EPG search list provided to a user via a website of the Internet in accordance with the present invention.

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

600: remote reservation system

610: EPG Edit Module

620: Website operation module

630: reservation command sending module

640: common EPG DB

650: User Information DB

660: Reservation Information DB

In order to achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, video content including a real-time digital broadcast program and a video on demand (VOD) received in a user's set-top box via satellite ( A remote reservation system for contents, comprising: means for editing and storing video content related information in various formats for the video content in a predetermined format, and displaying the stored video content related information to a user, Means for providing a web site for receiving a reservation related request for video content and a reservation control command for controlling a set top box reservation function of the user in response to the reservation related request input from the user; A remote reservation system is provided that includes means for transmitting to a set top box of the apparatus.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a remote reservation for video content including a real-time digital broadcast program and a Video On Demand (VOD) received in a user's set-top box via satellite is provided. A method, comprising: editing and storing video content related information in various formats for the video content in a predetermined format, displaying the stored video content related information to a user, and requesting reservation request for predetermined video content from the user. Providing a web site (Web site) receiving the input, and in response to the reservation-related request input from the user, transmitting a reservation control command for controlling the set-top box reservation function of the user to the set-top box of the user A remote booking method is provided that includes.

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

1 is a schematic diagram of a digital satellite broadcasting system in which a plurality of digital broadcasting stations and VOD service providers provide video contents through satellites. In the present specification, “video content” is a broad term that includes not only a real-time broadcast program transmitted by the digital broadcasting stations 100 through the satellite transmission system 110, but also video content provided by a plurality of VOD service providers 130. It is used as a meaning.

A plurality of digital broadcasting stations 100 or VOD service providers 130 have an information transmitting device 138 for converting video content data into MPEG format data for transmission. The video content data transmitted by the information transmitting device 138 is received by the set top box 140 of the user via the satellite transmitting system 110 and the satellite 120. The satellite transmitting system 110 Provided by satellite operators such as Korea Telecom.

The video content data transmitted as a satellite signal from the satellite 120 is received by the satellite receiver 142 of the set-top box 140 and stored in the hard disk 144. The stored video content data is displayed on the screen of the digital TV 150 connected to the set-top box. In addition, the broadcasting station 100 and the VOD service provider 130 may set EPG data including schedule and plot information of the video content provided by the set-top box 140 through a satellite channel separate from the channel through which the video content is transmitted. To transmit. The viewer may search the EPG data received by the set-top box 140 on the screen of the digital TV 150 and reserve and record desired content with the remote controller 160.

The set top box 140 is illustrated as including a satellite receiver 142, a hard disk 144, a CPU 146, and a general purpose interface 148. Set-top box 140 is a device for receiving a satellite signal according to the digital satellite broadcasting standard of each country, a detailed description thereof will be omitted because it is beyond the scope of the present invention. However, as will be described below, the set-top box 140 used in the present invention should be able to perform a reservation function according to the reservation control data transmitted from the remote reservation system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually showing the configuration of the information transmitting apparatus 138 shown in FIG. The information transmitting device 138 encodes the video content data, the EPG data related to the video content, and the set-top box control data, which are stored in the databases 132 to 136, respectively, in MPEG format for transmission through the satellite delivery system 110. Plays a role. First, referring to the EPG DB 134 illustrated in FIG. 3, the EPG DB 134 includes items such as a content ID, a content classification, a title, a transmission frequency, a delivery date, a transmission time, a channel ID, and a content duration. . Since broadcasters or VOD service providers may have different types of EPG data provided to users, EPG items stored in the EPG DB 134 may also be slightly different. By referring to the EPG data transmitted by the information transmitting device 138 on the digital TV screen, the user can reserve the desired content using the remote control and the set-top box without searching for the regular program (content) schedule in the newspaper or magazine. You can record.

4 shows an embodiment of the set top box control DB 136 referred to by the information transmitting device 134 together with the EPG DB 134. The set top box control DB 136 includes items such as a control command, a set top box ID, the number of repetitive transmissions, a transmission date, a transmission time, and a data size. The control command indicates the type of command to be transmitted to the terminal. The control command controls the set-top box, such as resetting the date and time of the set-top box, and transmits information, such as transmitting an EPG or notifying new mail. Can be separated into commands.

The set-top box ID indicates the identifier of the set-top box to receive the control command, and the number of repetitive transmissions specifies the number of control command transmissions. The sending date is the date to send the control command, the sending time is the time to send the control command, and the data size is the total size of the drawing data that provides detailed information about each control command in bytes.

The drawing data stores detailed information that varies according to each control command in text form. For example, the date / time control command represents date / time information in the form of YYYY-MM-DD HH: MM: SS. The structure of the drawing data can be variously expressed in text according to the type of control command. The sending status indicates the sending status of the control command.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the information transmitting device 138 includes a data extracting unit 210, a data converting unit 220, a transmitting data storing unit 230, and a transmitting unit 240. The data extractor 210 extracts video data and audio data of the video content from the video content DB 132 and extracts control data from the EPG DB 134 and the set-top box control DB 136.

The data converter 220 converts each data transmitted from the data extractor 210 into MPEG format, which is a digital broadcast standard, and transmits the data to the satellite transmitter 240. The satellite transmitter 240 transmits the MPEG data transmitted from the data converter 220 to the satellite transmission system 110 by dividing the MPEG data for each satellite channel.

The satellite transmission system 110 modulates the digital MPEG data transmitted from the satellite transmitter 240 into an analog satellite signal and transmits it to each channel of the satellite. This part is a service area provided by the satellite communication provider, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hard disk file configuration of the set-top box of FIG. 3. The hard disk is used to store received video, audio and control data. The hard disk functions as a buffer for storing a certain amount of content when playing a real-time satellite broadcast, and as a storage space for storing content in the case of reserved recording. The content storage function of the hard disk enables forward, rewind, pause, repeat, and the like of the content.

The data stored in the hard disk includes the set-top box control software 510, the EPG file 520, the scheduled recording content list file 530, the output video content file 540, and the recorded video content file 550. do.

Set-top box control software 510 includes various application software for controlling and managing each function of the set-top box. The EPG file 520 is a file that stores EPG data received from satellites. By searching the EPG data, the user can find out schedule and plot information about contents provided for each channel. If desired, desired contents of these contents can be reserved and recorded by operating the remote control of the digital TV. The reserved recording content list file 530 is a file that stores a content list in which the user sets reserved recording. When the recording is completed or the scheduled recording is canceled, the corresponding content information is automatically removed from this file. The output video content file 540 is a file used to obtain the effect of buffering when the user watches a real-time satellite broadcast, and the recorded video content file 550 is a video content file that is recorded and stored in the hard disk. The user can watch or delete the desired content from the recorded content at any time. The amount of recordable content depends on the remaining hard disk space.

6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a video content remote reservation system 600 according to the present invention. The video content remote reservation system 600 includes an EPG editing module 610, a website operation module 620, and a reservation command sending module 630, a common EPG DB 640 referenced or updated by each of these modules, User information DB 650 and reservation information DB 660;

The EPG editing module 610 functions to edit EPG data for video contents of various formats provided by a plurality of digital broadcasting stations and a plurality of VOD service providers in a predetermined format. EPG data related to video content collected from multiple broadcasters and VOD service providers may be provided in different formats for each broadcaster and VOD service providers. In order to assist the user in searching, the EPG editing module 560 edits EPG data of different formats into a predetermined common format and records them in the common EPG DB 640. In the present embodiment, although it is illustrated that it includes one common EPG DB 640, in another embodiment, information about real-time satellite broadcasting programs provided by broadcasting stations and videos provided by VOD service companies are separately included. It can also be recorded in DB. This is merely an implementation difference and does not depart from the scope of the present invention.

The website operation module 620 is a module that provides a user with EPG data stored in the common EPG DB 640 and receives a reservation and recording request for predetermined video content from the user. The user searches the EPG data for real-time satellite broadcasting programs and videos provided by a plurality of broadcasting stations and VOD service providers through the website operated by the website operating module 620, and the user can watch the desired program or You can schedule or unschedule video recording. Website operation module 620 records the reservation / reservation cancellation request input from the user to the reservation information DB (660). In addition, the website operation module 620 may provide various additional services such as account management and e-mail to the user.

The reservation command sending module 630 generates the set-top box reservation control command data of the user based on the reservation information stored in the reservation information DB 660 and plays the role of sending it through the satellite delivery system 110. The reservation control command data sent from the reservation command sending module 630 is received in the set top box of the user. The set-top box performs a reservation and recording function for predetermined video content received from the satellite according to the received reservation control command data. For example, if a user has reserved a "7 News News" broadcast on satellite website at 7:00 pm on the website, the set-top box turns on the digital TV at 7:00 pm or switches the channel to 101. By allowing the user to view the "7 o'clock news" at 7 pm. In another example, if a user has ordered a video called "mint candy" on a website, the set-top box stores the "mint candy" video content received from the satellite channel on the hard disk, thereby "mint candy" at the desired time. Allows you to watch the video.

7 is a diagram illustrating detailed functions of the website operation module 620 according to the present invention.

The service subscription unit 710 is a part for processing a service subscription request of a user who wants to receive a remote reservation service according to the present invention. In some cases, the user may apply for subscription to the digital satellite broadcasting service through the website according to the present invention. Subscription to this service means the purchase of a set-top box and the installation of a satellite antenna to receive satellite broadcasts. The subscription information changing unit 720 is a part for processing the personal information change of the user authenticated by the user ID and password applied at the time of subscription.

The EPG display unit 730 is a part for displaying the EPG data retrieved from the common EPG DB 640 in a format selected by the user. The reservation recording application unit 740 is a part for processing a reservation recording application of the user. The requested reservation recording information is stored in the reservation information D 660 and then transmitted as a reservation control command to the set-top box of the user through the reservation command sending module 630.

The additional service unit 750 is a part for providing an additional service such as an electronic mail to the user in addition to the reservation recording application service of the video content.

8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a user information DB 650 used in a remote reservation system according to the present invention. User information DB (650) is a database that stores personal information about users applying for service subscription through the website according to the present invention, user ID, password, set-top box ID, name, social security number, home address, payment method , Items such as login information.

9 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a reservation information DB 660 used in a remote reservation system according to the present invention.

The set top box ID is an identifier of a user set top box to receive reservation information, and all set top boxes have a unique identification value from the time of manufacture. The user ID is an identification value of a user who made a reservation request for predetermined video content. The content ID is a content identification value requested by the user for reservation recording, and all video content provided through the satellite has a unique identification value in the form of, for example, "channel code + classification code + serial number". The classification is a genre classification of the corresponding content, and may be used as a search value when the user wants to search by genre. In addition, the reservation information DB 660 includes the content title, reservation application date / time, channel ID, broadcast date (recording date), broadcast time (recording start time), recording amount, and the like.

10 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of interaction between a website operation module 620 and a user according to the present invention. In step 1010, the user logs in to receive the remote booking service according to the present invention. In step 1020, the user requests an EPG search of the video content. In step 1030, the user may optionally enter a search condition, for example, channel, title, classification, etc., to search only for content in a certain field. In step 1040, an EPG search list of the content requested by the user is displayed on the screen. In step 1050, the user enters a reservation or cancel reservation request for a given content in the EPG search list. In step 1060, the reservation or reservation cancellation request entered by the user is recorded in the reservation information DB 660. In step 1070, the reservation information recorded in the reservation information DB 660 is processed into reservation control command data for the set-top box of the requesting user and sent. This allows the user to remotely schedule and record various digital broadcasts or VODs provided via satellite using the remote reservation system of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an EPG search list provided to a user through a website of the Internet according to the present invention. On the computer screen used by the user for Internet access, a portion to receive a reservation request from the user is displayed along with the content title, channel, broadcast date and time, and broadcast status.

So far, one room of the remote reservation system of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 6 to 11

Although the example has been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and EPG information for various video contents can be provided to the user via the Internet within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Makes it possible.

Accordingly, it should be understood that all modifications and variations included in the spirit of the present invention belong to the appended claims.

As described above, according to the present invention, a user can search information on moving picture content provided by a plurality of digital broadcasting stations and VOD operators via satellite on an Internet web site and reserve predetermined content. That is, the remote reservation system of the present invention is provided by using any device capable of accessing the Internet, for example, a desktop, a notebook computer, a wireless communication terminal, and the like, even when the user is separated from the digital TV equipped with the set-top box. By accessing a web site, a user can make reservations and request recording of various video contents provided through satellites.

Claims (8)

A remote reservation system for video content including real-time digital broadcast programs and video on demand (VOD) received in a user's set-top box via satellite, Means for editing and storing video content related information in various formats of the video content in a predetermined format; Means for displaying the stored video content related information to a user and providing a web site for receiving a reservation related request for predetermined video content from the user; Means for transmitting, to the set-top box of the user, a reservation control command for controlling the set-top box reservation function of the user in response to the reservation-related request input from the user. Remote booking system comprising a. The remote reservation system of claim 1, wherein the video content related information comprises a satellite channel provided with video content, a providing time, and a content amount. The remote reservation system of claim 1, wherein the reservation-related request includes a viewing reservation, a viewing reservation cancellation, a recording reservation, and a recording reservation cancellation. The remote reservation system of claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting the reservation control command to the set-top box of the user transmits the reservation control command through a satellite channel separate from the satellite channel through which the video content is transmitted. A remote reservation method for video contents including a real-time digital broadcast program and a video on demand (VOD) received in a user's set-top box via satellite, Editing and storing video content related information in various formats of the video content in a predetermined format; Providing a web site displaying the stored video content related information to a user and receiving a reservation related request for a predetermined video content from the user; In response to the reservation-related request input from the user, transmitting a reservation control command for controlling the set-top box reservation function of the user to the set-top box of the user; Remote booking method comprising a. The method of claim 5, wherein the video content related information comprises a satellite channel provided with video content, a providing time and a content amount. 6. The remote reservation method of claim 5, wherein the reservation related request includes a viewing reservation, a viewing reservation cancellation, a recording reservation, and a recording reservation cancellation. The remote reservation method of claim 5, wherein the means for transmitting the reservation control command to the set-top box of the user transmits the reservation control command through a satellite channel separate from the satellite channel through which the video content is transmitted.