KR20060067798A - Multi-channel streaming system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system, apparatus and method for transmitting a multichannel stream. The multi-channel streaming system receives a multiplexing multi-channel stream and a streaming server for transmitting the multiplexed multi-channel stream to clients in the same network on the IP address, and demultiplexes the received multiplexed multi-channel stream into a single channel stream. And a stream relay for transmitting the single channel stream to the client in response to a client's request in a different network on the streaming server and the IP address.

Streaming Servers, Stream Repeaters, Multichannel Streaming

Description

Multi-channel streaming system and method

1 is a conventional streaming service structure.

2 is a view showing a change from IPv4 to IPv6.

3 is an IPv6-based HDTV multi-channel streaming service structure.

4 is a simplified diagram illustrating unicast and multicast.

5 is an architecture for HDTV multi-channel streaming service.

6 is a flowchart for multichannel streaming service processing.

The present invention relates to a system, apparatus, and method for streaming HDTV (High Definition Television) video in multiple channels. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system, an apparatus, and a method for multichannel streaming HDTV high-definition video based on a system composed of an HDTV streaming server and a stream relay based on the IPv6 protocol.

Current IPv4-based Internet addresses are expected to be depleted by 2005-2006 as exponentially growing user demands arise. In addition, the current Internet is a packet network based on the IPv4 protocol, and since it is a Best Effort service that does not provide QoS, the streaming service on the Internet is currently limited due to the characteristics of streaming applications in which a single content is shared by several people. .

Therefore, the current streaming service on the Internet is a music streaming service capable of low bandwidth, or a low-quality service in the case of video. Movie, broadcasting, and music services, including EBS courses, are on the rise, but considering the characteristics of the Internet, it is impossible to stream high-definition video, and multi-channel streaming is more difficult.

Recently, due to the development of Internet services and the provision of various multimedia media, interest in streaming services and HDTV on the Internet has recently increased. Most TVs are shifting to digital TVs, and broadcasting is also currently broadcasting HDTV.

Accordingly, users in the streaming service in the Internet network wants HDTV-quality high-definition video. In addition, users will also want to see the environment and services that can select and watch the broadcasting of various channels when the broadcasting service is applied in the Internet.

The present invention relates to a service, an apparatus, and a method for providing a high quality multi-channel streaming service that meets the needs of a user by further improving a conventional low quality single channel streaming service.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is a service and apparatus for providing a multi-channel video streaming service of the high-definition TV-class high-definition video in a low-quality short-channel transmission streaming service through a new service structure consisting of a streaming server, a stream relay and a client And a method thereof.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, a multi-channel streaming system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a streaming server for transmitting a multiplexed multi-channel stream to a client existing in the same network on the IP address; A stream relay device for receiving and demultiplexing the received multiplexed multi-channel stream into a single channel stream and transmitting the single channel stream to the client according to a request of a client existing in a different network on the streaming server and an IP address; Include.

Another embodiment of the present invention to achieve the technical problem is a receiving unit for receiving the multiplexed multi-channel stream from a streaming server for transmitting the multiplexed multi-channel stream to a client existing in the same network on the IP address; A channel separator for demultiplexing and buffering the multichannel stream into a single channel stream; And a channel transmitter for transmitting the buffered single channel stream corresponding to a stream request of a client existing in a different network on the streaming server and an IP address.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the multi-channel streaming service method according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) determining whether the streaming server and the client exists in the same network based on the IP address; (b) Transmitting the multiplexed multi-channel stream to the client according to the client's request from the streaming server when the streaming server and the client exist in the same network; And (c) when the streaming server and the client do not exist in the same network, the stream relay apparatus that receives the multiplexed multichannel stream from the streaming server demultiplexes the multiplexed multichannel stream into a single channel stream. Transmitting the single channel stream to the client according to a client's request.

In another embodiment of the present invention to achieve the technical problem (a) receiving the multiplexed multi-channel stream from a streaming server for transmitting the multiplexed multi-channel stream to a client existing in the same network on the IP address ; (b) channel separation, demultiplexing and buffering the multichannel stream into a single channel stream; And (c) transmitting the demultiplexed single channel stream to a client existing in a different network on the streaming server and an IP address according to a client's request. It includes.

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

1 illustrates a streaming service currently used on the Internet.

VOD content, which is prepared as a file, or live content such as a camcorder, is streamed in a single channel whenever the user 121, 122, 123 requests from the streaming server 100, and the network stream is multicast using an IPv4 network. 132 or unicast (131, 133).

Currently, the multi-channel streaming service is difficult in the Internet. To solve this problem, a method of improving a codec or applying a QoS mechanism has been proposed. However, there is a problem that the multi-channel service of the high-definition video cannot be provided only by such an improvement.

2 illustrates a change from IPv4 network to IPv6.

The IPv6 protocol, which began work to solve the problem of address shortage in IPv4, reflects the effort to solve the problem of IPv4 from the design. Accordingly, the IPv6 protocol has a lot of strengths in terms of mobility, security, and QoS compared to IPv4.

Therefore, the IPv6 protocol, which supplements the shortcomings of the current Internet protocol, IPv4, is expected to be used in the next generation Internet network. The existing Internet protocol, IPv4, has made explosive advances in the success of WWW killer applications such as web browsers. In contrast, the IPv6 protocol is almost completely standardized around the IETF's IPv6d WG.

3 is a diagram illustrating a system architecture for IPv6-based high-definition video multi-channel video streaming service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

High-definition multi-channel streaming system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a streaming server 300, the stream relay device (310, 312, 316).

As an embodiment of the present invention, the specification of the IPv6 video streaming system is shown in Table 1 below.

division function  Streaming server -MPEG-2 TS-OS: Linux-Multiplexer-Dual Stack Support-Unicast / Multicast-RTP / RTCP  Stream repeater -MPEG-2 TS-OS: Linux-Dual Stack Support-Demultiplexer-Unicast / Multicast-RTP / RTCP  Client -Software MPEG-2 Codec-OS: Windows 2000 / XP-RTP / RTCP-Unicast / Multicast

Currently, an alternative to solve the problems of the Internet network is to apply a QoS mechanism or to compress and transmit content. However, using the QoS mechanism is a difficult problem in the Internet due to the nature of the packet network, and the latter method of increasing the compression rate is the most widely used at present.

If the compression rate is improved, even if the content using the same bandwidth can transmit a high-quality video. Currently, H.264 and MPEG2 are the most promising codecs and decoders for HDTV-class high-definition video. Microsoft is developing its own solution that transforms MPEG4.

MPEG2 is a standard created by the Moving Picture Experts Group, and was originally created for digital TV and DVD-level video. H.264 started with ITU's VCEG H.26L project, and collaborated with MPEG with ISO's Video Team and Joint.

It is known that H.264 performance is ahead of MPEG 2. Streaming services using these two codecs are gradually increasing.

 In an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Table 1, the MPEG2 codec is used as a specification of an HDTV streaming server, a stream relay device, and a client of an IPv6 video streaming system.

In terms of each component, multi-channel streaming service is as follows.

The streaming server 300 multiplexes the VOD content and the live content through the MUX 301 through encoding, and transfers the multiplexed streams to the IPv6 unit by the stream relay device 310, 312, 316 or the client 330. Cast or multicast.

If the streaming server and the client exist in the same Internet network, the streaming server transmits the multiplexed multi-channel stream to the client 330 IPv6 unicast (344) or multicast (343).

In this case, the client 330 receives the multichannels directly from the streaming server 300 (343, 344), demultiplexes the multiplexed multichannel streams into a single channel stream, and plays only the content requested by the client. The other content channel is discarded (331).

The stream repeater 312 includes a receiver 313, a channel separator 314, and a channel provider 315.

The receiver 313 receives the multiplexed MPEG2-TS multi-channel stream from the streaming server 300. In the channel separator 314 using the MPEG2-TS Demux, the received MPEG2-TS multichannel stream is divided into program streams, that is, divided into a single channel stream and transmitted to the channel provider 315.

The channel provider 315 multicasts or unicasts the MPEG2-TS single channel stream received from the channel separator 314 to the client upon request from the client 320. 321. 322. If there is no request from 321 and 322, the channel provider 315 puts each stream into a buffer and discards it after a predetermined time.

Looking at the preferred embodiment of the multi-channel streaming service of the present invention from the client side as follows.

When the clients 320, 321, 322, and 330 access the web server providing the service, the web server determines based on the IP address of the client to determine whether the client is on the same Internet network as the streaming server 300.

When the client 330 and the streaming server 300 are in the same network, the client 330 receives multicast 343 and unicast 344 directly from the streaming server 330.

Client 330 has a built-in demultiplexing function (331). Therefore, the multi-channel stream received from the streaming server is demultiplexed through the channel separator 331, only the content desired by the client is played, and other content channels are discarded.

In addition, if the network to which the client and the streaming server belong is multicast (343) and the streaming server is multicasting the multichannel stream, the client joins the corresponding address to receive the multichannel stream, and the channel separator 331. Through demultiplexing through, only the requested channel can be played. Of course, in this case, the bandwidth between the server and the client must be guaranteed.

If the multicast is not supported, the streaming server 300 transmits the multichannel stream by unicast (344).

On the other hand, when the clients 320, 321, and 322 and the streaming server 300 exist in different Internet networks, the clients 320, 321, and 322 receive the desired contents through the stream relay 312.

That is, the stream relay device 312 receives the multiplexed multichannel stream transmitted by the streaming server 300 through the receiver 313 and converts the multiplexed multichannel stream into a single channel stream through the channel separator 314. After the demultiplexing, if there is a request from the clients 320, 321, and 322, the channel provider 315 transmits the multicast 345 or the unicast 346 and 347 to the clients 320, 321, and 322.

Even in this case, if the network to which the stream relay device 312 and the clients 320, 321, and 322 belong is multicast supported, if a client's request is requested, the network is transmitted to the multicast address (345). Join to the multicast address.

In a network in which multicast is not supported, when the client 320, 321, or 322 requests, the stream relay device 312 unicasts only the corresponding content to a single channel (346, 347).

The advantage of a multicast-enabled network is that once another client requests the same content, it simply joins to that address instead of spraying a new stream over the Internet. This has the advantage of maximizing the utilization of the Internet network. Detailed descriptions of the multicast and unicast transmission methods will be provided later.

The scenario in which the client does not directly access the server and streams through the stream relay device has an advantage of distributing the load of the streaming server to a plurality of stream relay devices.

The status of the network where the client exists, that is, whether it is in the same network as the server or the network that supports multicast, is determined and processed by the web server through the client's address.

Being in the same network may mean that the server and the client are in the same access service (AS) network or in the same Internet service provider (ISP).

More specifically, as an embodiment of a method in which a web server determines a state of a network in which a client exists, when the streaming server and the client have the same IPv6 prefix, the web server may identify the network of the client and the streaming server as the same network. have.

For example, when the streaming server address is 2001: 230: 1 :: 1 and the client's address is 2001: 230: 1 :: 200, the streaming server and client are on the 2001: 230: 1 :: / 48 network. The web server knows that the streaming server and the client are in the same network.

4 is a schematic diagram of a transmission scheme of unicast and multicast.

Regarding the unicast and multicast transmission described above, it is described in more detail as follows.

The transmission method of the Internet can be divided into unicast and multicast from the perspective of senders and receivers participating in the transmission.

In the case of using the unicast transmission method (FIG. 4a) to transmit the same data to multiple senders for group communication, the data packet to be transmitted must be transmitted to the multiple receivers multiple times. This reduces the efficiency of the network. In addition, this problem becomes larger when the number of recipients increases.

On the other hand, if the multicast transmission 4b is supported, the sender can transmit a message to multiple receivers at once, thereby minimizing network resource waste due to redundant transmission of data.

Unicast transmission is a method in which one sender transmits data to another receiver, and all general Internet applications use unicast.

Multicast transmission, on the other hand, is a method in which one or more senders transmit data to a specific one or more receivers and is used in applications such as Internet video conferencing.

The difference between multicast transmissions and general unicast Internet applications is the transmission packets. In general, an Internet application program over TCP / IP transmits a packet by indicating the Internet address of a receiver to which the sender of the data is to be received in the header of the transmission packet. However, for multicast transmission, the packet is transmitted by indicating the group address of the receiver instead of the receiver's address in the header.

More specifically, the group address for multicast transmission is a D-class IP address (224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255), which is different from A, B, and C-class IP addresses representing individual Internet hosts around the world. The receiver receiving the multicast packet having the group address, which is not the address indicated, determines whether the packet is accepted by determining whether the packet belongs to the group of the packet.

However, since most routers on the Internet currently support only unicast, in order to transmit multicast packets, encapsulated packets are transmitted between the multicast routers using a number of turns called turningers.

In other words, by routing the packet header with the multicast address in front of the multicast routers with the IP addresses of both ends of the tunnel, they are routed in the same way as the existing unicast packets when passing through general routers that do not support multicast. To be sent to the end of the tunnel.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a web server may passively determine whether a network between a streaming server and a stream relay, a network between a streaming server and a client, or a network between a stream relay and a client supports a multicast network. If not, the following method is used.

The client first joins to the multicast address. At this time, if the network to which the client belongs does not support multicast, the connection is not made and timeout occurs. When this timeout occurs, the stream is sent unicast.

We will look at the process of subscribing HDTV multi-channel stream through IPv6 network through a more specific example.

It is assumed that a large broadcasting company such as ABC starts the Internet broadcasting at the HDTV level, and there are three channels currently broadcasting. Assume each channel is 20 Mbps.

The streaming server 300 exists in the S local broadcasting station, and the S local broadcasting station multiplexes a multi-channel stream of three channels (60 Mbps) in the streaming server 300 to transmit the real time to the stream relay apparatuses 310, 312, and 316 in real time. .

There are stream relay devices 310, 312, and 316 in broadcasting stations located in each city (for example, M area ABC company, P area ABC company, etc.). These local people 320, 321, 322 can receive a single channel stream through the stream relay.

More specifically, there is a streaming relay device for each Internet ISP in ABC region P. That is, a streaming relay device such as P area ISP_1, P area ISP_2, and P area ISP_3 is provided.

People (clients) who are subscribed to the P-region ABC company, namely, the desired single channel (20Mbps) of the three channels (60Mbps) transmitted from the S-region through streaming relay devices such as P-region ISP_1, P-region ISP_2, and P-region ISP_3 ) Can only be sent.

In this case, the administrator of the streaming server 300 in the S region may know whether the host is connected to an ISP of any operator in any region using only the IP addresses of subscribers (clients) in the whole country.

In other words, when a specific person in the P area (client) wants to watch the ABC-1 broadcast through the homepage, the streaming server 300 in the S area uses the address in the message requested by the specific person (client) to the person in the P area. It is possible to provide a service for transmitting the ABC-1 single channel stream through a stream relay device in ABC.

The stream relay in the region P receives the multiplexed multi-channel streams transmitted by the streaming server 300 in the region S through the receiver 313 and receives the received 60-Mbps multi-channel stream in the channel separator 314 for 20 Mbps, respectively. The channel provider 315 provides a single channel stream to the client at the request of the client. Otherwise, the channel provider 315 maintains a predetermined time in three buffers and discards it.

When the first client 321 requests one channel (eg, channel 1), the stream relay device 312 in the P region transmits a multicast address from the contents of the buffer in channel 1 (345). ). Thereafter, the first client joins to this address to receive the desired channel 1 stream.

If another second client (not shown) then requests channel 1 with the same content as the first client, the streaming server in region S and the stream relay in region P are needed without additional work to re-spread the stream. You will not. However, the second client may join the address transmitted by multicast and receive the desired channel 1 for streaming. As such, the use of multicast increases network efficiency.

However, when the network of the client does not support multicast, the first client 320 receives the first channel through the stream relay device 312 to the unicast 346 and the second client 322. The same content is also transmitted to the unicast 347 through the stream relay 312. This results in the unicast (346, 347) transmission of a single channel stream of 20 Mbps twice even though the same channel is viewed from the stream relay side 312 side.

5 shows an architecture for a multichannel HDTV streaming service.

As shown in FIG. 5, the HDTV streaming service is applicable to a hierarchical structure consisting of a backbone network and an access network. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the stream relays 510 and 511 may be installed as long as the bandwidth is guaranteed to continuously receive the multichannel stream from the streaming server 500.

6 shows a flowchart for multichannel streaming service processing.

After accessing the service web server (S610), the client determines whether it exists in the same network as the streaming server based on its IP address (S620). As a preferred embodiment of determining whether or not existing in the same network, it can be determined based on the IPv6 prefix.

If the streaming server and the client exist in the same network, the web server transmits a multi-channel stream by joining the multicast address in the case of a network in which multicast is supported depending on whether multicast is supported in the client network (S621). After receiving, the multiplexed multi-channel is demultiplexed into a single channel, and then the desired channel is played. (S622, S624, S640)

On the other hand, in a network in which multicast is not supported, the client plays back a desired channel after demultiplexing the multiplexed multichannel into a single channel after receiving the multichannel stream through unicast (S623, S624, S640).

If the streaming server and the client do not exist in the same network, the client receives a single channel from the stream relay (S630). The stream relay apparatus demultiplexes the multiplexed multi-channel stream received from the streaming server into a single channel, and transmits the separated single channel to the client when the client requests, and when there is no request, the predetermined time Discard the stream stored in the buffer.

At this time, the web server determines whether the multicast is supported in the network to which the client belongs (S631). In the case of a multicast supported network, the client joins the multicast address to receive the multichannel stream and plays the desired channel. (S632, S640).

On the other hand, if multicast is not supported, the client plays a desired channel after receiving a single channel stream as a unicast from the stream relay (S633 and S640).

The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and the like, which are also implemented in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet). It also includes. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

The best embodiments have been disclosed in the drawings and specification above. Although specific terms have been used herein, they are used only for the purpose of describing the present invention and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention as defined in the meaning or claims. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible from this. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

The present invention relates to an IPv6 based video streaming system, an apparatus and a method as an example of an IPv6 killer application. Since the video streaming application of the present invention is the most widely used Internet application in the existing IPv4 network, users can use it without any new learning, and there is a large amount of traffic, and thus the IPv6 network can be activated.

The present invention provides a new multi-channel streaming service structure in view of the lack of active use of users and ISPs due to the absence of applications that can actively use the Internet when the IPv6 protocol to be used in the next generation Internet network is in practical use. Efficiently provides multi-channel video streaming service of HDTV-quality high-definition video that is difficult to service on the Internet.

Claims (20)

A streaming server for transmitting the multiplexed multi-channel stream to clients existing in the same network on the IP address; Receiving the multiplexed multi-channel stream and demultiplexing the received multiplexed multi-channel stream into a single channel stream to deliver the single channel stream to the client at the request of a client present in a different network on the streaming server and an IP address. A stream repeater for transmitting; Multi-channel streaming system comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the client is And demultiplexing the multiplexed multichannel stream received from the streaming server into a single channel stream. The method of claim 1, The streaming server and the stream relay device is a multi-channel streaming system, characterized in that for transmitting the multi-channel stream and the single channel stream over an IPv6 network. The method of claim 1, And determining whether the client and the streaming server are in the same network based on an IPv6 prefix. The method of claim 1, wherein the streaming server And multicast or unicast transmission of the multiplexed multichannel stream. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the stream repeater And multicast or unicast transmission of the demultiplexed single channel stream when requested by a client. A receiving unit for receiving the multiplexed multichannel stream from a streaming server for transmitting the multiplexed multichannel stream to a client existing in the same network on an IP address; A channel separator for demultiplexing and buffering the multichannel stream into a single channel stream; A channel transmitter for transmitting the buffered single channel stream corresponding to a stream request of a client existing in a different network on the streaming server and an IP address; Stream relay apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein And the receiving unit receives a multi-channel stream from the streaming server through an IPv6 network, and the channel transmitter transmits a single channel stream to the client through an IPv6 network. The method of claim 7, wherein the channel transmission unit And transmitting the single channel stream to the client according to a stream request of a client that is determined to exist in a different network from the streaming server based on an IPv6 prefix. The method of claim 7, wherein the receiving unit And multicast or unicast reception of the multiplexed multi-channel stream from the streaming server. The method of claim 7, wherein the channel transmission unit And transmitting the demultiplexed single channel stream by multicast or unicast upon request of the client. (a) determining whether the streaming server and the client exist in the same network based on the IP address; (b) transmitting the multiplexed multi-channel stream from the streaming server to the client according to the client's request when the streaming server and the client exist in the same network; And (c) If the streaming server and the client do not exist in the same network, the stream relay apparatus that receives the multiplexed multichannel stream from the streaming server demultiplexes the multiplexed multichannel stream into a single channel stream. Sending the single channel stream to the client at the request of; Multi-channel streaming service method comprising a. The method of claim 12, wherein step (b) comprises: And demultiplexing and buffering the multiplexed multi-channel stream at the client. The method of claim 12, And multicast or unicast transmission of the multi-channel stream multiplexed from the streaming server to the stream relay device. The method of claim 12, And multicast or unicast transmission of the demultiplexed single channel stream when the client requests. (a) receiving the multiplexed multichannel stream from a streaming server that transmits the multiplexed multichannel stream to clients existing on the same network on an IP address; (b) channel separation, demultiplexing and buffering the multichannel stream into a single channel stream; And (c) transmitting the demultiplexed single channel stream to a client existing in a different network on the streaming server and an IP address at the client's request; Multi-channel streaming service method comprising a. The method according to claim 12 or 16, The multi-channel stream and the single channel stream is transmitted and received over an IPv6 network. The method according to claim 12 or 16, And determining whether the streaming server and the client are in the same network based on an IPv6 prefix. The method of claim 16, wherein step (a) The multi-channel streaming service method characterized in that the multi-channel or unicast reception of the multiplexed multi-channel stream from the streaming server. The method of claim 16, wherein step (c) And multicast or unicast transmission of the demultiplexed single channel stream when the client requests.

Images