KR20030072482A - Internet broadcasting system and method using a set-top box - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A system and a method for an Internet broadcasting service using a set-top box are provided to receive the desired television or radio broadcasting through the set-top box connecting to the Internet. CONSTITUTION: A video server(111) receives the broadcasting stream data from broadcasting stations(130) in a unicast method through the Internet(120), broadcasts a usable broadcasting list to all connected set-top boxes(141,153) in a broadcasting method, and transmits the broadcasting stream data to the set-top boxes(141,153) requesting the broadcasting stream data in an IP(Internet Protocol) multicast method. The set-top boxes(141,153) enable a user to select a broadcasting program by displaying the broadcasting list from the video server(111), and receive and play the broadcasting stream data of the selected broadcasting program to display tools(142,143,154). The display tools(142,143,154) display the broadcasting list and the broadcasting stream data.

Description

Internet broadcasting system and method using a set-top box

The present invention relates to a system and method for an Internet broadcasting service that enables a user to watch / listen to over-the-air television and radio broadcasts around the world in real time through the Internet using a set-top box equipped with an Internet multicast function.

Set-top boxes are next-generation information appliances that allow users to enjoy the Internet through existing television terminals using telephone lines or dedicated Internet lines.The set-top box is inexpensive and provides easy access to the Internet using a wireless remote control or vending machine. In connection with this, various functions can be used.

Broadcasting services via satellite or cable are provided using set-top boxes. In order for the set-top box to receive satellite or cable broadcasting, a digital video broadcasting-satellite (DVB-S) card must be installed in the set-top box for satellite broadcasting, and a digital video broadcasting-cable (DVB-C) card in the case of cable broadcasting. It must be fitted. Such a conventional set-top box only receives and reproduces a broadcast signal from a head-end and cannot send a control or data message to the headend, but recently receives a broadcast signal and controls and data messages to the headend. A set-top box with a function of transmitting a was developed. In order for the set-top box to send control or data messages to the headend, the cable modem, various digital subscriber lines (xDSL) (asymmetric digital subscriber lines (ADSL), symmetric digital subscriber lines (SDSL), high-speed digital subscriber lines) (HDSL), high speed digital subscriber line (BDSL), etc.) A modem or a telephone modem is used.

When the user inputs the name of a broadcast program that the user wants to watch on the set-top box, the set-top box transmits control and data messages to the headend, and when the headend transmits the broadcast signal selected by the user, the set-top box plays the broadcast signal. Let the user watch the broadcast program.

However, such a set-top box can only select and receive limited content provided by the content provider through the headend. That is, the user may not be able to watch a broadcast program that the content provider does not provide. In addition, since the current set-top box receives the broadcast signal from the headend in a unicast manner, the number of users decreases the quality of service and causes unnecessary bandwidth waste.

An object of the present invention for solving the problems of the prior art, a set-top service that allows a user to watch or listen to the real-time television or radio broadcasts that the user wants to watch through a set-top box with Internet access in real time An object of the present invention is to provide an internet broadcasting service system and method using a box.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide an Internet broadcasting service system and method using a set-top box that broadcasts the air television broadcast or radio broadcast to all set-top boxes connected via the Internet by the IP multicast method. Do.

The Internet broadcasting service system using the set-top box according to the present invention for achieving the above object, receives the broadcast stream data in a unicast manner from a plurality of airwave stations through the Internet, to all set-top boxes connected through the Internet A video server for broadcasting a playable broadcast list in a broadcast manner and transmitting the broadcast stream data in an IP multicast manner to set-top boxes requesting to receive arbitrary broadcast stream data;

A set-top box displaying a broadcast list input from the video server to display means for a user to select a broadcast program, and receiving broadcast stream data of the broadcast program selected by the user from the video server and reproducing it on the display means;

And display means for displaying the broadcast list and the broadcast stream data input from the set-top box on the screen.

In addition, the Internet broadcast service method using the set-top box according to the present invention, the first step of the video server checks whether there is a receiver of the requested broadcast program when a specific broadcast program reception request is input from the set-top box;

If the receiver is present in the first step, the video server adds the receiver requester information to the group information table of the multicast session corresponding to the broadcast program and broadcast media data of the broadcast program to the set-top box of the receiver requester. Transmitting a second step;

If the receiver does not exist in the first step, the video server connects to an airwave broadcasting station of the requested broadcast program to receive broadcast media data of the broadcast program, and establishes a multicast session and a multicast session of the broadcast program. And generating a group information table, and transmitting the broadcast media data of the broadcast program to the set-top box of the receiving requester.

1 is a block diagram showing an Internet broadcasting service system using a set-top box according to the present invention,

2 is a protocol structure diagram of a set-top box for each transmission medium according to the present invention;

3 is a protocol structure diagram of each component constituting the Internet broadcasting service system according to the present invention;

4 is a structural diagram of an IGMP message transmitted for reception of a specific session in the Internet broadcasting service system according to the present invention;

5 is an embodiment of a screen configured to select over-the-air broadcasting in the set-top box according to the present invention;

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of internet broadcasting service in a video server according to the present invention;

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of internet broadcasting service in a set-top box according to the present invention.

※ Explanation of code about main part of drawing ※

110: Internet broadcast service provider 111: video server

120: Internet 130: airwave station

141, 153: set-top box 142, 154: television set

151: gateway

Hereinafter, the "Internet broadcasting service system and method using a set-top box" according to an embodiment of the present invention in detail as follows.

1 is a block diagram showing an Internet broadcasting service system using a set-top box according to the present invention. According to the present invention, a viewer can view and listen to all over-the-air television broadcasts and radio broadcasts broadcasted by over-the-air broadcast stations 130 around the world through an Internet broadcast service provider 110 providing an Internet broadcast service.

To this end, the Internet broadcast service provider 110 receives the airwave broadcast from the world's airwave stations 130 through the Internet 120 in a unicast manner, converts it into its own stream format (eg, MPEG4, etc.) and sets-top as a user terminal. The video server 111 broadcasts the airwave broadcasting to the boxes 141 and 153 in a multicast manner. In addition, the viewer may access the video server 111 to receive a broadcast list and provide an environment for the viewer to select a broadcast program that the viewer wishes to watch or listen to, and the viewer may select the broadcast receiver program. 154, a monitor 143, or a set-top box 141, 153 which is a user terminal for playing with a speaker (not shown).

The viewer may be provided with the Internet broadcasting service according to the present invention in a general detached house 140 or a large building (hotel, apartment) 150 or the like. In the case of the general detached house 140, a set top box 141 capable of accessing the Internet and a television receiver 142 or a monitor 143 connected to the set top box 141 are provided.

In the case of the large building 150, a multicast router is installed in the gateway 151 connecting the set top boxes 153 respectively installed in each arc 152. The multicast router installed in the gateway 151 transmits the data of a specific session to the broadcast signal transmitted from the video server 111 via Ethernet, cable, or general telephone line (PSTN line). To). The transmission medium in a building may use one of cable, digital subscriber line (xDSL), optical, wireless, and Ethernet as needed. A video server is a multicast server equipped with a multicast router. It receives various overseas television broadcasts from the Internet, converts them into its own stream, and multicasts them to set-top boxes that are grouped in multicast sessions to the broadcast program. . At this time, the network protocols used include real-time transport protocol / RTP control protocol (RTP / RTCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), and internet protol / internet group management protocol (IP / IGMP).

The video server 111 is installed where a web server or headend equipment of an internet broadcasting service provider is located. That is, the video server 111 is installed in a centralized maintenance test system (CMTS) when the set top boxes 141 and 153 use cables, and the set top boxes 141 and 153 are installed. If a digital subscriber line (DSL) is used, it is installed in a digital subscriber line access multiplexor (DSLAM).

In addition, since the video server 111 uses multicast to send data to the set-top boxes 141 and 153, it must be equipped with a multicast router function. As a routing protocol, DVMRP (distance), which is a basic multicast routing protocol, is used. vector multicast routing protocol (PIM) or protocol independent multicast (PIM) is used. The DVMRP and PIM are part of the distance vector path control protocol to support IP multicast transmission, which transmits the same information to multiple addresses between networks or routers.

When the video server 111 equipped with the multicast router receives a subscription message of a multicast session requesting reception of a specific broadcast program from the set-top boxes 141 and 153 which are user terminals, the video server 111 determines whether to accept it. The broadcast signal is multicasted to the corresponding set top boxes 141 and 153. In addition, the video server 111 receives airwave broadcasts of various countries through a unicast session and converts the streams of the airwave broadcast signals of various countries to create a multicast session that can be selected by a user. In addition, the video server 111 broadcasts a broadcast list every predetermined time, and the set-top boxes 141 and 153 as user terminals receive the broadcast list from the video server 111 and store the broadcast list in the flash memory. If there is a broadcast list display request from the user, it is displayed on the television receivers 142 and 154 or the monitor 143. When the user selects a broadcast program he / she wants to watch from the displayed broadcast list, the set-top boxes 141 and 153 transmit a group join message to the corresponding multicast session. When a user subscribes to a multicast session to receive a specific broadcast program, the video server 111 multicasts the broadcast program to the set-top boxes 141 and 153.

2 is a protocol structural diagram of a set-top box for each transmission medium according to the present invention. The set-top box is designed differently in the protocol structure of the physical layer and the data link layer according to the medium for transmitting the stream (Ethernet, cable modem, digital subscriber line (xDSL)). The upper protocol of the network layer or more has the same structure regardless of the lower medium. That is, the network layer is IP / IGMP (internet protocol / internet group management protocol), the transport layer is UDP (user datagram protocol), and the session layer and the presentation layer are RTP / RTCP (real-time transport protocol / RTP control protocol) protocol is used respectively.

In addition to the above-mentioned protocols, the set-top box includes a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP), a simple network management protocol (SNMP), a trivial file transfer protocol (TFTP), and a security protocol. ) May be further applied. The media player of the application layer varies according to the service provider's choice. In addition to a player that plays a codec developed in-house, a commonly used window media player or real player is used. player) can be used.

3 is a protocol structure diagram of each component constituting the Internet broadcasting service system according to the present invention. The stream server of the over-the-air broadcaster 130 services over-the-air broadcast programs to the Internet in the same manner as the stream service to general Internet users. If a special contract is established between a service provider and an over-the-air broadcasting station, the service provider may receive a dedicated service that is distinct from the general user. The stream server generates an over-the-air broadcast program into a media stream through a media stream generator of an application layer, converts the media stream into an RTP / RTCP protocol or a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), and then again. Converted to Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or UDP, and then to IP / ICMP (internet protocol / Internet Control Message Protocol), and then to lower layer protocols according to transmission media to convert video server 111 Send to.

The video server 111 converts the media stream transmitted through the lower layer protocol according to the transmission medium to IP / ICMP, converts it back to TCP / UDP, converts it back to RTP / RTCP or HTTP, and media at the highest application layer. Convert the stream using a converter or stream relay. Then, the converted stream is converted into RTP / RTCP, converted into TPC / UDP, converted into IP / IGMP, and then converted into a lower layer protocol according to a transmission medium to set-top boxes 141 and 153. send. The set-top boxes 141 and 153 convert the stream transmitted through the lower layer protocol according to the transmission medium into IP / IGMP, the next UDP, the next RTP / RTCP, and then the media player, which is a video / audio player. Play through.

The service provider's video server 111 multicasts the media stream data received from an over-the-air station in a unicast manner to several set-top boxes, and may simply transmit the original stream or convert it to its own codec depending on the stream type. Can be sent.

4 is a structural diagram of an IGMP message transmitted for receiving a specific session in the Internet broadcasting service system according to the present invention. This IGMP message has 4 bits of IGMP version information, 4 bits of IGMP type information, 16 bits of checksum information, and 32 bits of group address (class D IP address) information. The group address (class D IP address) is used as a session ID for distinguishing over-the-air broadcasting. No change from traditional IGMP messages, but service providers can use both class D multicast addresses if they build their own private network and make the TTL (transistor-transistor logic circuit) of multicast packets small (one).

5 is a diagram illustrating a screen configured to select over-the-air broadcasting in the set-top box according to the present invention. The full screen 51 adjusts or broadcasts the playback window 52, the window 53 which displays information on the broadcast being played and Internet address information (URL: uniform resource locator), and the size of the playback window 52. Function buttons 54 used to select a program or reproduce a broadcast signal, a multicast session information broadcast selection function window 55, an advertisement, system information, a date and time display window 56 are included.

Depending on the operation of the playback function buttons 53, the size of the playback window may be larger or smaller in full screen. The play function buttons 53 follow the form of a general media player and input is made by using a set-top box remote controller or wireless keyboard. In the window 54 indicating information on reproduction, basic information such as broadcasting information and URL of the original site is displayed. In the multicast session information broadcast selection function window 55, a list that can be received is displayed. The multicast session information broadcast selection function window 55 has a top-down form such as a tree structure. For example, by sorting by country or continent, if a user selects a specific country, a list of broadcasts provided by the country is displayed, and when the user selects a random broadcast list, the user can watch the broadcast. At the bottom of the window 56, public information such as system information, time, weather, stock information, etc. may be displayed, and a simple advertisement accompanying free broadcasting for profitability of the business may be displayed.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of internet broadcasting service in a video server according to the present invention. If a specific broadcast program reception request is input from the set-top box (S61), the video server checks whether a receiver of the requested broadcast exists (S62). If there is a receiver of the broadcast requested to its network in step S62, the video server updates the group information table of the multicast session (S63), and transmits the broadcast data to the set-top box (S64). In this case, since there is no change in the existing unicast over the Internet, only the information update of the multicast router takes place, thereby taking advantage of multicast.

On the other hand, if there is no receiver of the requested broadcast in the own network in step S62, a connection is made to an over-the-air broadcasting station site that can receive the requested broadcast signal, and receives media stream data (S65). Thereafter, the video server converts the received media stream data into a form of media serviced by its server and creates a multicast session (S66). The multicast group information table is generated and broadcast data is transmitted to the set top box of the user (S67).

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of internet broadcasting service in a set-top box according to the present invention. When the user issues a specific broadcast reception command to the set-top box (S71), the set-top box checks whether a session desired by the user exists in an IGMP query that is periodically transmitted from the multicast router located in the gateway (S72). In step S72, if there is a session desired by the user, the user joins the multicast group of the session (S75), and sends a request message to the video server to join the multicast group of the session. Receive (S76). On the other hand, if there is no corresponding session in the IGMP Curie in step S72, the set-top box requests the video server to create a multicast session (S73), and if the session is created (S74), proceeds to step S75 to join the group of the session to join the video server. A multicast broadcast signal is received from the receiver.

While the present invention has been described above based on the preferred embodiments thereof, these embodiments are intended to illustrate rather than limit the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, or adjustments to the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention will be limited only by the appended claims, and should be construed as including all such changes, modifications or adjustments.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to receive over-the-air broadcasting of various countries through the set-top box through the Internet, and to transmit unnecessary broadcasting bandwidth in a multicast manner, thus preventing unnecessary waste of transmission bandwidth and efficient processing. have.

Claims (4)

A set-top that receives broadcast stream data from a plurality of airwave stations through the Internet in a unicast manner, broadcasts a playable broadcast list to all set-top boxes connected through the Internet, and receives arbitrary broadcast stream data. A video server for transmitting the broadcast stream data to the boxes in an IP multicast manner; A set-top box displaying a broadcast list input from the video server to display means for a user to select a broadcast program, and receiving broadcast stream data of the broadcast program selected by the user from the video server and reproducing it on the display means; And a display means for displaying the broadcast list and the broadcast stream data inputted from the set-top box on the screen. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a gateway to which the plurality of set top boxes connect to the Internet; Internet broadcasting service system using a set-top box, characterized in that it further comprises a multicast router installed in the gateway. A set-top that receives broadcast stream data from a plurality of airwave stations through the Internet in a unicast manner, broadcasts a playable broadcast list to all set-top boxes connected through the Internet, and receives arbitrary broadcast stream data. An internet broadcast service method in a video server for transmitting the broadcast stream data to boxes by IP multicast method, A first step of the video server checking whether a receiver of the requested broadcast program exists when a specific broadcast program reception request is input from the set-top box; If the receiver is present in the first step, the video server adds the receiver requester information to the group information table of the multicast session corresponding to the broadcast program and broadcast media data of the broadcast program to the set-top box of the receiver requester. Transmitting a second step; If the receiver does not exist in the first step, the video server connects to an airwave broadcasting station of the requested broadcast program to receive broadcast media data of the broadcast program, and establishes a multicast session and a multicast session of the broadcast program. And generating a group information table, and transmitting the broadcast media data of the broadcast program to the set-top box of the receiving requester. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the set-top box comprises: a fourth step of outputting the broadcast program reception command to the video server when a specific broadcast program reception command is input from the reception requester; It checks whether a multicast session of the broadcast program exists from the video server, and if the multicast session exists, joins a multicast group of the multicast session and inputs a broadcast media stream of the broadcast program from the video server. And receiving a broadcast media stream of the broadcast program from the video server after creating a multicast group of the multicast session, joining the generated multicast group if the multicast session does not exist. Internet broadcasting service method using a set-top box, characterized in that.