KR20020073346A - Distributed internet broadcasting method and system using camera and screen capture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A distributed web casting method and system are provided to generate data using a web camera installed at a computer or generate data by executing a motion picture file stored in a computer using a motion picture reproducing application so that it can allow anyone to easily produce a program and broadcast it over the internet in real time. CONSTITUTION: The method comprises steps of a producer client inputting a URL address of a service site, which opens a broadcasting channel for a user and applies for a broadcasting channel to commence web casting(S310), the producer client requesting to open a broadcasting channel by clicking an open button(S320), a broadcasting server determining if the producer requests a broadcasting channel for the first time(S330), the broadcasting server automatically installing a client program for broadcasting which is a software necessary for producing a web cast if the request is the first one(S340), the server displaying an initial screen when the installation of the broadcasting is completed(S350), and the producer client broadcasting an image taken by a web camera in a case that the producer client uses the web camera or the producer client clicking a start/end image capture button on the broadcasting window to capture a desired image when not using a web camera or when intending to broadcast other broadcasting materials(S360).

Description

Internet distributed broadcasting system and method using camera and screen capture {DISTRIBUTED INTERNET BROADCASTING METHOD AND SYSTEM USING CAMERA AND SCREEN CAPTURE}

Until a few years ago, broadcasting had evolved into two areas: airwaves and cable television. However, recently, due to the development of the Internet, a new broadcasting concept has appeared. In other words, the age has come for everyone to broadcast over the Internet with less cost and broadcasting equipment than in the past. To put it more realistically, the era has come when people can easily broadcast to anyone around the world with their own content.

In general, Internet broadcasting refers to information used to deliver TV and radio to viewers, such as over-the-air broadcasting or cable TV (usually voice and video information, and also text information recently). It is a new concept of broadcasting that delivers multimedia information such as voice, video, text, and images to Internet users (including existing viewers).

Starting from an understanding of the Internet as a media and culture, the high speed and large capacity of the user network environment due to the popularization of high-speed communication networks (e.g., cable communication networks, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), etc.) And the development of Internet broadcasting with the advent of software that can transmit audio and video (e.g., streaming solutions-real systems, Windows media, stream works, etc.). This was accelerated. In addition, the WWW (World Wide Web, which enables the multimediaization of Internet services), where texts and still images were initially the mainstream of services, enables the transmission of multimedia data such as voice, video, and animation. The emergence of websites is accelerating. Multimedia information such as audio and video occupies tens or hundreds of times more than other information. Therefore, streaming technology has emerged to make up for the shortcomings of the time-consuming transmission method of multimedia information. Streaming technology is a technology that allows the Internet user to see the file immediately after all files have been transferred, even if only a certain amount of the entire file is transferred, and the remaining portion of the capacity is transmitted in real time. It is a technology configured to view multimedia information such as video.

Existing broadcast media (TV, radio, etc.) is a form of unilateral transmission of information to viewers, except for channel selection options, whereas Internet broadcasting is capable of accessing the Internet at any time and place, beyond time and space. The advantage is that you can select and watch the program you want to watch. This concept is Video On Demand (VOD). That is, it is a communication service that can watch a desired program in the home by selecting a desired program through a TV or PC connected to the VOD server. The special feature of VOD is that the same program can be shared by different users at different times and places at the same time, depending on network conditions. For example, for weekend dramas on MBC broadcasts, the only option is to record and watch on a VTR outside of the time you watch on TV (or re-live) .However, if you can access the Internet, you can watch the file at any time. have. However, since the bandwidth of Internet broadcasting is smaller than the reception bandwidth of TV, it is not possible to watch with the quality as TV, but this limitation may be overcome due to the spread of high speed internet network in the future.

However, although such an Internet broadcast is easier than the conventional one from a broadcast producer's point of view, there is a problem that it is difficult to access to a general Internet user who is still a beginner. That is, there is a problem that a high-speed Internet dedicated line must be installed, and expensive equipment must be purchased. In addition, since the existing Internet broadcasting is dependent on some large broadcasting stations, there is a problem in that it is not possible to provide a desired place and a desired program to a general Internet user because the information is not diversified. Therefore, the existing Internet broadcasting users are provided with only limited programs that are recorded and edited in the studios of the Internet broadcasting stations. In addition, in the case of the existing Internet broadcast it was possible to broadcast only the information received through the web camera mounted on the computer. That is, a broadcast producer connects the Internet through his computer. However, the conventional broadcaster has a limitation in that a conventional program cannot broadcast a screen executed through application programs in the computer without a web camera.

The present invention relates to an internet distributed broadcasting system and method, and more particularly, by generating data using a web camera mounted on a computer or by executing a video file stored in the computer as a video playback application to generate data. The present invention relates to an internet distributed broadcasting system and method using a camera and a screen capture that can easily produce a personal broadcast and broadcast it in real time on the Internet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be readily understood by the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate like elements.

1 is an overall system configuration diagram of an internet distributed broadcasting system 1000 according to the present invention;

2 is a detailed configuration diagram of a producer client 200 for producing and broadcasting broadcast content according to the present invention;

3 is a flowchart illustrating an internet broadcast production process of a producer client according to the present invention;

3A is an exemplary view of a screen of an internet broadcasting production site.

3B is an exemplary view of a broadcast channel application.

3C is a functional explanatory diagram of an exemplary broadcast window;

3D is an example of screen capture.

4 is an internal configuration diagram of a broadcast server 400 according to the present invention.

5A and 5B are information flow diagrams illustrating a broadcast state monitoring process;

5C is an information flow diagram illustrating a channel establishment and broadcast participation process;

5D and 5E are information flow diagrams illustrating a channel management process at the end of a broadcast;

6 is a detailed block diagram of the viewer client 600 according to the present invention,

7 is a flowchart illustrating a channel management and a broadcast resource management process;

8 is a flowchart showing a group management process.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention relates to an Internet distributed broadcasting system and method comprising a producer client, a broadcast server and a viewer client, the producer client and viewer client Geographically separate from each other. The present invention also relates to a server configuration and a client configuration for real time broadcasting.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an internet distributed broadcasting system and method that anyone who wants to broadcast can produce a broadcast and broadcast it to a general Internet user in real time.

Another object of the present invention is configured to broadcast in a screen capture method using a video or audio file execution application as well as the data input to the web camera Internet distributed broadcasting that can broadcast the video or audio data output from the monitor or speaker A system and method are provided.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an internet distributed broadcasting system and method capable of enabling Internet broadcasting using only a web camera and a headset device by making software of an expensive compression device and an editor.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an internet distributed broadcasting system and method capable of communicating between a viewer client, a producer client, and a viewer client through a chat server.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the Internet broadcasting method for broadcasting the multimedia information, such as voice, video, text, image produced by the producer client to the viewer client over a high-speed communication network, requesting the establishment of a broadcast channel, Capturing data to be broadcast when the broadcast channel is established, encoding the captured broadcast data, and transmitting the encoded broadcast data to the broadcast server; All channels are searched and allotted an empty channel according to the producer client's request to open a broadcast channel, linked to the corresponding channel according to the viewer's request to participate in the broadcast, and broadcast data is received to the viewer client through the assigned channel. And transmitting the data divided into several streams.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a broadcast channel application item is created in an internet broadcasting system in which multimedia information, such as voice, video, text, and image produced by a producer client, is broadcast to a viewer client using a high-speed communication network as a medium. A producer client for requesting to establish a broadcast channel, capturing data to be broadcast when the broadcast channel is established, and encoding and transmitting the captured broadcast data; It is connected to the producer client through a high-speed communication network, and searches for all channels and allocates empty channels according to the producer client's request to open a broadcast channel, manages channels, updates and stores new channel information, and transmits them from the producer client. A broadcast server that receives the broadcast data and divides the broadcast data into several streams through an assigned channel and transmits the broadcast data; And a viewer client connected to the broadcast server through a high-speed communication network, requesting a broadcast participation request from the broadcast server, decoding the broadcast data transmitted from the broadcast server, restoring the original data, and playing and viewing the restored data. Include.

There are several advantages of the present invention. Various embodiments or implementations may derive one or more of the following advantages. One advantage of the present invention is that anyone can easily produce a broadcast without expensive equipment and broadcast it on the Internet in real time. Existing Internet broadcasting requires expensive broadcasting equipment, and the software for broadcasting should be installed in the broadcasting computer. However, the present invention does not require a separate software installation process and uses technologies such as Active X. By executing the producer client of the present Internet distributed broadcasting system performed in a web environment, it is possible to capture and broadcast desired video, audio and text data. Another advantage of the present invention is that it is possible to capture and broadcast not only video data generated through a web camera but also video data and still image data stored in a computer. In addition, audio data generated through a microphone may be broadcast as well as audio data generated through an audio reproduction application. That is, it is possible to directly broadcast the upbringing of the producer client, or to broadcast a music file or the like executed on a computer of the producer client. Another advantage of the present invention is that the producer client can broadcast even with a small number of upstream networks since the producer client and the web server of the present invention can be located independently.

The advantages and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which is incorporated in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example the principles of the invention.

In the following detailed description of the invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of an internet distributed broadcasting system and method using a camera and a screen capture according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an overall system configuration diagram of an internet distributed broadcasting system 1000 according to the present invention, and includes a producer client 200, a broadcast server 400, and a viewer client 600. Interconnected.

The producer client 200 is a person who directly manufactures an Internet broadcast. It is preferable to easily and accurately edit information to be broadcast by utilizing all multimedia that can be implemented such as video, audio, images, graphics, and text. Video data generally uses web cameras, but closed circuit television (CCTV), betacam, digital video cameras, and camcorders can also be used. In addition, it is possible to broadcast high quality data by providing an audio switcher and an integrated lighting set. Recorded information can be stored in analog form (ie, tape). The types of tape include VHS tape, 8mm tape, and beta tape. The broadcast server 400 allocates a broadcast channel according to a request of the producer client 200, receives broadcast data transmitted from the producer client 200, and broadcasts the broadcast data to the viewer client 600 through the assigned channel. Performs the function of dividing into streams. For example, if the amount of data transmitted from the producer client 200 to the broadcast server 400 is 100 kbps and the number of the viewer clients 600 is 100, the data transmitted from the broadcast server 200 to the viewer client 600. The amount of stream is 100 kbps x 100 kbps = 10 Mbps.

In general, the Internet 800 may be configured of T1, T2, T3, ADSL, cable network, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), and the like. The broadcast server 400 is preferably connected around the switch providing ADSL or to T1, T2, T3, and the like. Clients 200 and 600 are not particularly limited, but in reality, it is preferable to use an ADSL or cable network line that provides a high-speed Internet to the user. Therefore, since the producer client 200 does not have to be in an expensive, high-speed environment such as T1, T2, or T3, any general user can produce an Internet broadcast. That is, since the producer client 200 and the broadcast server 400 may be constructed so as to be independent of each other, the producer client 200 may implement the Internet broadcast with a less upstream network.

2 is a detailed configuration diagram of a producer client 200 for producing and broadcasting broadcast content according to the present invention. The producer client 200 includes a data generator 210, a data capture unit 220, and an encoder 230. , The camera 240, the microphone 250, and the transmitter 260, and the data generator 210 controls the video player 212, the window screen 214, the application 216, and the audio player 218. The data capture unit 220 includes a video data capture unit 222, a still image data capture unit 224, and an audio data capture unit 226, and the encoding unit 230 includes a video data encoder 232. And an audio data encoder 234.

The data generator 210 performs a function of generating data to be broadcast, and broadcast data is largely divided into video stream data and audio stream data. In the case of video stream data, it is subdivided into video data and still image data, and the video data is generated by being executed by data generated through a conventional web camera and by a video player 212 (for example, a Windows media player or a real player). Data, and the still image data may be all screen data executed by the window screen 214 of the creator client 200 or an application 216 (eg, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and displayed on the monitor. . The audio stream data is divided into audio data reproduced in a general audio player 218 and audio data generated through a microphone. In addition, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the audio stream data may also include audio data reproduced by the video player 212.

The data capture unit 220 captures the video stream data and the audio stream data generated by the data generator 210, and the video data reproduced by the video player 212 is captured by the video data capture unit 222. The video data captured and displayed on the window screen 214 and the application program is captured by the still image data capture unit 224, and the audio data reproduced by the video player 212 or the audio player 218 is captured by the audio data capture unit. Is captured at 226. If you only provide audio service in internet broadcasting, you only need a sound card.However, if you use a web camera to provide video service, you do not need additional hardware.However, if you use a camcorder, CCTV, VTR, etc. You may also need a video capture board. Types of files generated by the data capture unit 220 may be in the form of extensions having .mov, .avi, .wav, .au, etc. In general, audio files use a lot of .wav forms, and video files Many types of .avi and .mov are used. The software used in the data capture unit 220 includes a cool edit function of a premiere and sound editor of the US company, Adobe, which can edit a variety of videos in addition to simply capturing a video. Etc. can be used.

The encoding unit 230 performs a function of compressing the captured video and audio data so as to be easily transmitted, and the data captured by the video data capture unit 222 and the still image data capture unit 224 may be a video data encoder 232. ) And the data captured by the audio data capture unit 226 are encoded by the audio data encoder 234. Compression is essential for the efficient transfer of high volumes of captured data. In general, one channel of a TV occupies a 6 MHz band including an audio signal, which is 45 Mbps of information when digitized. There is no way to transmit this high volume of information over existing telephone lines. Therefore, a compression technique such as MPEG method is used to compress the information data. Using this compression technology, 45Mbps of information can be compressed to 1.5Mbps. MPEG-based MPEG-1 is mainly used for CD-ROM storage media, and MPEG- is a new way of compressing according to pixel or screen configuration. 2, MPEG-4, high-definition television (HDTV) audio and video data that supports variable data rates to ensure smooth data transmission on any network, while increasing the compression rate of data to transmit data in real time using a telephone line or an internet network. MPEG ⁺⁺ for compression, H.263 or H.26L optimized for bandwidths below 200kbps. In the present invention, it is preferable to use MPEG-4, H.263, H.26L because data is interchanged over the Internet.

In addition, a camera 240 is connected to the video data encoder 232 of the encoding unit 230, and a microphone 250 is connected to the audio data encoder 234. Accordingly, by encoding the video data transmitted through the camera 240 as well as the audio data transmitted through the microphone 250, the video and audio data embedded in the computer of the producer client 200 as well as the producer client 200 may be encoded. You can broadcast the current picture and voice in real time. The data compressed by the encoder 230 is transmitted to the broadcast server 200 through the transmitter 260.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an internet broadcast production process of a producer client according to the present invention, FIG. 3A is an exemplary view of a screen of an internet broadcast production site, FIG. 3B is an exemplary view of a broadcast channel application, and FIG. 3C is an exemplary broadcast. FIG. 3D is a diagram illustrating a function of the window. FIG.

Producer Clients must be equipped with the basic equipment necessary for broadcasting. For example, the computer should be prepared for various broadcasting materials such as Pentium II 200 or higher, high speed communication network such as USB image camera, ADSL or cable, CD, MP3, music video, conference data, charts, photos, etc. Here, even if there is no image camera, it is possible to capture and broadcast a window screen or a video.

When the basic preparation for the Internet broadcasting is completed, the producer client inputs the URL address (eg, http://mystation.lycos.co.kr) of the site that opens the broadcasting channel for starting the internet broadcasting. Apply (S310). In order to apply for a broadcast channel, a broadcast channel application must be prepared according to the format. For example, if the user clicks 'Create My Own Broadcast (i.e., the content located at the upper right)' on the initial screen of the Internet broadcasting production site shown in FIG. 3A, a broadcast channel application form as shown in FIG. 3B is displayed. The producer client lists each item of the displayed application. If you specify 'public or not' as a private item and specify a password, only the person who knows the password can enter. 'Limited Participants' designates the number of viewers who can watch the maximum number of channels to open. The size of the broadcast window includes a small screen and a large screen. The small screen has a size of 176 × 144, and the large screen is broadcasted at a screen size of 352 × 288. Since a large screen is not suitable for fast operation, it is desirable to designate a screen size suitable for the format of broadcast data.

When the broadcast channel application is completed, the producer client requests the establishment of a broadcast channel by clicking the 'open' button (S320). When a request for opening a broadcast channel is received from the producer client, the broadcast server determines whether the corresponding producer client requests the broadcast channel for the first time (S330), and if it is the first request, a broadcast client (eg, Active X) automatically installs the program (S340).

When the broadcasting client is installed, an initial screen as shown in FIG. 3C is displayed (S350). At the top of the initial screen, there is a 'broadcasting screen' that displays video data created by the producer client.At the bottom, a 'chat window' is used to exchange text data between the producer client and the viewer client. The function button is located. The function buttons include a 'microphone select' button for broadcasting to the producer client's voice, a 'PC sound select' button for broadcasting all kinds of sound output from the producer client's computer, such as winamp, media player, and CD player. There is a 'start / stop screen capture' button for capturing a desired screen, a 'end broadcast' button for terminating a broadcast, and a 'chat text color adjustment' button for specifying a text color when chatting. In addition, the broadcast window includes a function of displaying the transmission speed of the screen currently being broadcast and displaying the number of viewers watching the broadcast.If there is a web camera, the video recorded by the web camera is displayed on the 'broadcast screen'. If there is no web camera, the 'broadcast screen' is displayed as a blank space. In addition, if the image is turned off after clicking the right button of the mouse in the broadcasting window, only the sound is broadcast without displaying the screen.

If there is a web camera, the web camera broadcasts the captured image. If there is no web camera or if you want to broadcast other broadcast data, click the 'Start / Stop Capture' button on the broadcast window to capture the desired video. S360). Click the 'Start / Stop Screen Capture' button once to convert the video to PC screen, move the capture window to the area you want to broadcast, and start capture broadcasting. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3D, when a music video or a video is to be captured by a window media player, the capture window may be moved to a screen of a part to be broadcasted. Similarly, when a still image is to be captured, the corresponding screen is executed, and then the capture window is moved to an area to be broadcasted. Such a capture function is possible by a broadcasting client (eg, Active X), and the size of the capture window can be selected from a small window and a large window. If you want to transmit an album jacket or a still image instead of video broadcasting, you can capture the desired screen area and periodically turn off and on the video in the broadcasting window to effectively use the network's data rate. The transmission rate for broadcasting only music is about 24kbps, and the transmission rate for broadcasting with video is about 100kbps.

When video or audio data to be broadcast is captured, the encoder (230 of FIG. 2) encodes the captured broadcast data and transmits the encoded broadcast data to the broadcast server (200 of FIG. 1) through the transmitter (260 of FIG. 2).

4 is an internal configuration diagram of the broadcast server 400 according to the present invention. The broadcast server 400 includes a web server 410, a connection controller 420, and a database (hereinafter referred to as 'D / B') 430. Unit 440, and a gateway 450, which comprises a distribution main server processor 442 and distribution department processors 444 and 446.

The web server 410 is a server hardware connected to the producer client through the Internet, the server name is registered in the domain name server, and general Internet users can search for information in the form of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The web server program must be installed and executed in order to operate the Internet broadcasting production site of. The web server 410 is a server program that is executed to process URL-type information retrieval requests sent from producer clients or viewer clients, and requests for information from Internet users (for example, membership registration, broadcast channel establishment request, broadcast channel participation). A processing program that supports server-client interactions to handle requests and the like. Server programs include NCSA, CERN, Apache, JIGSAW, a server for Unix, IIS, a server for Windows NT, and WebSite, a server for both Windows NT and Windows 95/98. The processing program is generally called Common Gateway Interface (CGI). Use a standardized way of communicating information. The information transmitted to the web server 410 according to the CGI format is processed by the CGI program installed in the web server 410 by appropriately interpreting the information request of the Internet user according to the CGI standard format. In addition, the web server 410 provides the producer client with a broadcast client program for producing an Internet broadcast when the producer client requests to open a broadcast channel for the first time.

The connection controller 420 is interconnected with the web server 410, and the most important function is to connect the producer client and the viewer client through the unit. The channel is searched for the empty channel of the unit according to the request from the producer client for channel establishment, and the channel is allocated. In addition, the connection control unit 420 performs functions such as overall management of a broadcast channel, unit monitoring, load balancing, log processing, remote management processing, and channel information backup.

The D / B 430 is interconnected with the connection control unit 420 and performs a function of storing various information about the channel and the group (eg, channel space information, participant information, group association information, and the like). . Various information about the channel and the group is stored in a conversion table format, and the corresponding information is extracted and transmitted to the connection control unit 420 at the request of the connection control unit 420.

The unit 440 is interconnected with the connection control unit 420 and performs a role of receiving the stream data to be broadcast by the producer client and assigning the channel data to each channel. The unit 440 is composed of a plurality of groups (for example, 50), and each group has 10 people. Therefore, the number of people who can participate in one unit 440 is 500 people. The group constituting the unit 440 may be set differently according to the capacity of the server, but in the present invention, it is preferable to set the number to 50, and to set the number of people per group to a maximum of 10. Each of the groups in unit 440 may perform the functions of distributed main server processor 442 or distributed server processors 444 and 446, which are associated with connection control unit 420 when the group is to participate in the actual broadcast. Determined by The distribution main server processor 442 transmits the broadcast data produced by the producer client to the viewer clients participating in the group, and the distribution department processors 444 and 446 may link the broadcast data to other groups. When connected to the group and plays a role in transmitting the broadcast material to the viewer clients participating in the group. That is, both the producer client and the viewer client exist in the distribution main server processor 442, and only the viewer client exists in the distribution server processors 444 and 446. Distribution department processors 444 and 446 are required when broadcasting to another viewer client who wishes to view the broadcast content of that group when one group exceeds its capacity. Each group forms a tree structure, and the link controller 420 manages link information between the groups. In addition, each unit 440 periodically transmits its unit information (eg, channel space information, participant information, group-specific association information, etc.) to the connection control unit 420 so that the producer client or the viewer client is optimal. To connect to unit 440.

The gateway 450 is connected to the distribution main server processor 442 and the distribution server processors 444 and 446. The gateway 450 connects each processor and the viewer client to broadcast the content broadcasted by the producer client to the viewer client. Perform the function of sending.

5A to 5E are flow charts of information between a producer client and a broadcast server, a producer client, a WEB web server, a CSM connection controller, a UNIT unit, and a D / B database.

5A and 5B are information flow diagrams illustrating a broadcast condition monitoring process. When an event such as a certain period or channel establishment request occurs, the web server attempts to connect to port 5000 of the CSM (1). If the connection is successful, the CSM extracts the current broadcast channel information from the D / B (2) and delivers it to the web server (3). Here, in order to reduce the load of the D / B, a connection timeout for preventing frequent connection may be set according to the setting of the broadcast server (4). The connection timeout can be set, for example, in seconds.

5C is an information flow diagram illustrating a channel establishment and broadcast participation process. When the producer client requests the web server to open a channel for broadcasting (1), the web server transmits the information to the CSM (2). The CSM extracts channel information from the D / B (3), allocates a unit for the channel broadcast service (4), and transmits the allocated unit information and the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the unit to the web server (5). In other words, after creating a channel, a producer client needs to access a web server, a CSM, and a unit in order to participate in a broadcast. Next, the web server sends the assigned channel information and the CSM's IP address to the producer client (6), and the producer client sends the CSM the channel number to which it participates (7). Thereafter, when the CSM delivers the allocated unit information to the producer client (8), the producer client connects to the unit and then starts broadcasting (9).

5D and 5E are information flow diagrams illustrating a channel management process at the end of a broadcast. When the producer client requests the unit to terminate the broadcast (1), the unit reports the request to the CSM (2). Next, the CSM sends a channel closure command to the unit (3), and when all viewer clients leave the broadcast channel (4), the CSM passes the channel information to the D / B (5) to indicate that the channel is empty. In step 6, the channel information is transmitted to the web server.

The change in the channel information can be known from the unit table and the D / B table. When the channel is opened, the unit table is set after the D / B table is set. In contrast, at the end of the channel, the unit table is reset and then the D / B table is reset. If a channel information update command is issued at the same time as the channel establishment, a channel may be recorded as being opened in the unit but not established in the D / B table. The normal case and the error case are as follows.

(1) normal case

1) Requesting channel creation from producer client

2) CSM reads channel information from D / B and decides channel to allocate (assume channel 3)

3) D / B channel table set

4) Command Unit 3 open channel

5) Channel 3 set in the unit table

6) Pass unit address and channel number to producer client

(2) If an error occurs (the web server updates CSM information between 3 and 5)

1) Requesting channel creation from producer client

2) CSM reads channel information from D / B and decides channel to allocate (assume channel 3)

3) D / B channel table set

4) Web server requests unit information

5) Unit Table Information Delivery

6) According to the unit table, channel 3 is empty, thus resetting table 3 of the D / B table.

7) Command Unit 3 open channel

8) Channel 3 set in the unit table

That is, when an error occurs, channel 3 is reset in the D / B table and channel 3 is set in the unit table.

The above error is caused by two or more different daemons or scripts running on the web server and can be solved by putting a reset count in the D / B table. That is, after a channel set, a certain number of times or a predetermined time must elapse so that it can be reset. For example, after setting the channel, record the command execution time and do not reset if it is not more than 30 seconds when reset. These functions can be implemented in a web server or in D / B. The web server can be implemented by reading the time table before resetting the D / B to obtain the time difference, and then determining whether to reset it using this value. It can be implemented by rejecting set commands.

Also, when running more than one web server, the problem may be creating a unique channel number. In other words, when two web servers access the D / B at about the same time, and then search for the same empty channel in the channel table, it may issue a command to open the same channel. Of course, the second command will be ignored by the CSM, but this problem can be solved by using a sequence command on the D / B or reading the channel number via the record lock function and then assigning another web server while allocating a new channel. This can be solved by preventing access to the channel table.

6 is a detailed configuration diagram of the viewer client 600 according to the present invention, in which the viewer client 600 includes a receiver 610, a decoder 620, a data player 630, a monitor 640, and a speaker 650. The decoding unit 620 includes a video decoder 622 and an audio decoder 624, and the data reproducing unit 630 includes a video display 632, a still image display 634, and an audio player. It consists of 636.

The receiver 610 receives and transmits the video and audio stream data transmitted from the transmitter 450 of the broadcast server 400 to the decoder 620. The decoder 620 is connected to the receiver 610 and performs a function of decoding the video and audio stream data transferred from the receiver 610. Since the video and audio stream data transmitted from the transmitter 450 of the broadcast server 400 is encoded and transmitted, the original data should be restored. Here, the video stream data is decompressed through the video decoder 622, and the audio stream data is decompressed through the audio decoder 624. The data reproducing unit 630 is connected to the decoding unit 620, the video display 632 and the still image display 634 are connected to the video decoder 622, and the audio player 636 is the audio decoder. 624 is connected. The data reproducing unit 630 divides the screen of the viewer client 600 to display a video partly, partly to display a still image, and to communicate with a participant through text chat between broadcast participants. . Accordingly, the viewer can watch all contents of the broadcast only by the viewer client 600 regardless of the type of data input by the producer. Video data played back on the video display 632 and still picture display 634 is displayed through the computer monitor 640 of the viewer client 600, and audio data played back on the audio player 636 is output from the speaker 650. Is printed through).

7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of channel management and broadcast resource management. First, when the viewer client requests a broadcast channel participation request, the CSM waits for the connection of the viewer client before allowing access to the channel (S710). The CSM determines whether the channel requested by the viewer client is a channel that is currently being broadcast (S720), and if it is a channel that is currently being broadcast, it determines whether there is room to participate in the channel (S730). Such channel information can be retrieved through D / B (430 of FIG. 4). If there is no channel margin, it is determined whether the group within the unit to which the corresponding channel belongs can be expanded. The service for the channel is extended (S750). If the channel requested by the viewer client in the step (S720) is not a channel currently being broadcast or if the group expansion for the corresponding channel is impossible in the step (S740), the first step without allowing access to the channel requested by the viewer client Returning to (S710) and instructs to repeat the above process (S760). Next, if there is room to participate in the channel in step S730 or the service for the channel is expanded in step S750, after allocating a spare unit or group through load balancing, step S710 Return to.

8 is a flowchart showing a group management process. As channels increase and the number of people participating in each channel increases, resources for broadcasting (i.e. groups of respective units) are heavily used. These resources should be checked for use by the CSM's resource release algorithm at regular intervals, and thus unused resources should be released and allocated to other channels. First, the CSM searches all groups belonging to each unit. Next, the resource list of the channel is searched to determine whether there is a broadcast participant (that is, a producer client and a viewer client) participating in the last group of the channel (S830). If there is no broadcast participant, the group linked to the front of the group is searched to determine whether the group accommodates less than the maximum capacity (for example, 10) (S840). If the person who participated in the linked group in front of the last group is free, the last group is removed from the broadcast channel list (S850), and then all processing ends. In addition, if there is a participant in the last group in step S830 or there is no room in the number of participants in the group linked to the last group in step S840, the process is terminated without removing the last group from the channel list. . In other words, if the last group of resources that can service one channel is empty, and there is extra space in the group in front of it, if there is a certain period of time even if some participants join the group, the last group is broadcasted. It is advisable to operate this system to remove it from the list and make it available to other groups of services.

If the Internet distributed broadcasting system and method according to the present invention is widely built and used on the Internet, anyone will be able to provide their own broadcast program to various people through the Internet. The Internet broadcasting system according to the present invention is applied to an educational lecture system, a stock introduction broadcasting system, a personal broadcasting system of hobbyists (eg, love of love, music love, and movie love) in each field, and an internet broadcasting station in which many people participate in establishing a broadcast. Could be. For example, the current one-way online lecture system can be developed into a two-way lecture system between the instructor and the learner, and in the case of the current text-based online auction system, the auctioneer can auction in real time through broadcast. By showing, the auction can be carried out interactively with the participants, and in the case of online shopping, the seller can perform a sales activity such as cable TV shopping in real time on the Internet. In addition, any type of broadcasting currently in the form of over-the-air broadcasting and cable broadcasting can be broadcasted on the Internet by establishing a broadcasting station at a low cost.

The above embodiment is merely a description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to such, and can be changed as appropriate within the scope of the same idea. For example, the shape and structure of each component specifically shown in the embodiment of the present invention can be modified. In addition, the present invention can be widely used in other fields.

Claims (25)

In the Internet broadcasting method for broadcasting the multimedia information, such as voice, video, text, image produced by the producer client to the viewer client via a high-speed communication network, a) requesting to establish a broadcast channel, capturing data to be broadcast when the broadcast channel is established, encoding the captured broadcast data, and transmitting the encoded broadcast data to a broadcast server; And b) search for all channels according to the request of the producer client to establish a broadcast channel, allocate an empty channel, link to the corresponding channel according to the request for participation of the viewer client, and receive and allocate the broadcast data. And transmitting the broadcast data into multiple streams to the viewer client. The method of claim 1, wherein step a) a1) creating a broadcast channel application item and requesting to establish a broadcast channel; a2) determining whether a request for opening a broadcast channel is first; a3) automatically installing a broadcasting client program required for broadcasting when the request is first; And a4) capturing broadcast data, encoding and transmitting the captured broadcast data. The method of claim 1, wherein b) b1) receiving and storing information of each channel from a unit managing the entire channel; b2) retrieving the stored channel information and allocating an empty channel when the producer client requests to open a broadcast channel; b3) When the viewer client requests to participate in the broadcast, the number of participants in the requested channel is determined and the viewer client is linked to the corresponding channel when the number of participants is smaller than the maximum number of participants. Linking the viewer client to an extended channel by expanding; And b4) connecting the producer client to the viewer client through the assigned channel to broadcast broadcast data produced by the producer client to the viewer client. The method of claim 1, wherein the high speed communication network is a dedicated line including T1, T2, and T3, a cable communication network, and an Internet using any one of ADSL, ISDN, and PSTN. The method of claim 1, wherein the broadcast data includes video data, audio data, and text data. The method of claim 2, wherein the broadcast channel application item of step a1) A method that includes the name of the creator, the title of the broadcast, the visibility, the number of participants, the size of the broadcast window, and a brief description of the broadcast. The method of claim 2, wherein the capture of broadcast data in step a4) is captured by using the broadcast client program. A method of capturing and broadcasting video, still image, or audio data embedded in a computer of a producer client as well as video and audio data captured by a camera. The method of claim 2, wherein the encoding of the broadcast data captured in a4) uses any one of MPEG, H.263, and H.26L. The method of claim 3, b5) search for the expanded channel to determine the number of participants of the last channel among the linked channels, and if the number of participants is not available in the last channel and there is room for the number of participants in the linked channel before the last channel, Removing from the channel list. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the units are organized in groups and the channels are organized in one or more groups. The method of claim 3, wherein the channel information stored in the step b1) is periodically received from the unit to update the channel information. In the Internet broadcasting system for broadcasting the multimedia information, such as voice, video, text, image produced by the producer client to the viewer client via a high-speed communication network, A producer client for creating a broadcast channel request item and requesting to establish a broadcast channel, capturing data to be broadcast when the broadcast channel is established, and encoding and transmitting the captured broadcast data; It is connected to the producer client through the high-speed communication network, and search for all channels according to the request for the establishment of a broadcast channel of the producer client to allocate an empty channel, manage the channel, update and store new channel information, A broadcast server which receives the broadcast data transmitted from the producer client and divides the broadcast data into several streams through the allocated channel; And The broadcast server is connected to the broadcast server through the high-speed communication network, requests a broadcast participation request from the broadcast server, decodes the broadcast data transmitted from the broadcast server, restores the original data, and plays the restored data. A system comprising a viewer client. The method of claim 12, wherein the producer client A data generator for generating a video stream data and audio stream data to be broadcasted, including a video player for playing video data, a window screen and an application for playing still images, and an audio player for playing audio data; A video data capture unit that captures video data, a still image data capture unit that captures still images, and an audio data capture unit that captures audio data; A data capture unit for capturing video stream data and audio stream data; A video data encoder coupled to the data capture unit and an audio data encoder for compressing video data and an audio data encoder for compressing audio data, the video data encoder compressing the video and audio data captured by the data capture unit for easy transmission. An encoding unit; And And a receiver connected to the encoder and transmitting the data compressed by the encoder to the broadcast server. The system of claim 12, wherein the high speed communication network is a dedicated line including T1, T2, and T3, a cable communication network, and an Internet using any one of ADSL, ISDN, and PSTN. 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the broadcast data includes video data, audio data and text data. The system of claim 12, wherein the broadcast channel application item includes a founder's name, a broadcast title, visibility, a limited number of participants, a broadcast window size, and a brief description of the broadcast. The method of claim 13, A camera for capturing current state image data of the producer client; And And a microphone for capturing voice of the producer client. The system of claim 13, wherein the compression scheme used by the encoding unit uses any one of MPEG, H.263, and H.26L. The method of claim 13, wherein the data capture unit captures data using a broadcast client program provided by the broadcast server. A system for capturing and broadcasting video, still image, or audio data embedded in a computer of the producer client as well as video and audio data captured by the camera. The system of claim 17, wherein the camera uses any one of a web camera, a CCTV, a betacam, a digital video camera, and a camcorder. The method of claim 12, wherein the broadcast server A server program that is connected to the producer client and the viewer client through a high-speed communication network, and processes a server program for processing an information request of an Internet user and a server program for processing an information search request in a URL format transmitted from the producer client or the viewer client. A web server including a processing program supporting an operation, and providing a broadcast client program for producing an Internet broadcast to the producer client when a broadcast channel establishment request of the producer client is received; It is interconnected with the web server, searches for an empty channel of a unit according to a channel opening request of the producer client, allocates a corresponding channel, and connects the viewer client to the corresponding channel according to a request for participation of a broadcasting channel of the viewer client. A connection controller for performing functions such as overall management of a broadcast channel, unit monitoring, load balancing, log processing, remote management processing, and channel information backup; A database which is interconnected with the connection control unit and stores various information about channels and groups; A unit which is interconnected with the connection controller, receives the broadcast data to be broadcasted by the producer client, allocates the broadcast data for each channel, collects information of each channel, and transmits the information to each connection controller; And And a transmitter, coupled to the unit, for transmitting the broadcast data transmitted through the unit to the viewer client. 22. The system of claim 21, wherein the unit is comprised of a plurality of groups, the group comprising a distribution main server processor including both the producer client and the viewer client, and a distribution department processor including only the viewer client. And periodically transmitting channel information to the connection controller. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the distribution server processor transmits personnel information of each linked channel to the connection controller. The connection controller detects the number of participants of the last channel among the linked channels by searching the extended channel, and if the number of participants is not present in the last channel and there is a margin of the number of participants in the channel linked in front of the last channel, System that removes a channel from the channel list. 23. The system of claim 21 or 22, wherein said units are organized into groups and said channels are organized into one or more groups. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the information about the channel and the group stored in the database includes channel space information, participant information, association information for each group, etc., and the information about the channel and the group is stored in a conversion table format. system.