KR20080085258A - Apparatus and method for real-time streaming selection in upnp av system and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

A real-time streaming protocol selection apparatus in an UPnP(Universal Plug and Play) AV(Audio/Video) system, a method and a recording medium thereof are provided to increase a transmission quality of contents by selecting a transmission protocol optimized for a sort of contents and streaming contents efficiently. A real-time streaming protocol selection apparatus in an UPnP AV system includes a contents directory management unit(210), a transmission protocol selection management unit(220), and a media renderer(300). The contents directory management unit collects at least one of name, manufacturer, manufacturing date, size, transmission protocol, and data format information in for contents selected in a media server. If a user selects the contents managed by the contents directory management unit, the transmission protocol selection management unit selects a transmission protocol adapted for the selected contents to stream the selected contents. The media renderer receives and reproduces the contents through the transmission protocol selected by the transmission protocol selection management unit.

Description

Apparatus and method for real-time streaming selection in UPnP AV system and recording medium}

1 is a block diagram of a conventional UPnP AV system.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a streaming method in a conventional UPnP AV system.

3 is a block diagram of an apparatus for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of selecting a real time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a structural diagram of the UPnP AV protocol used in the present invention.

6 is a table showing an example of a protocol assigned to content when selecting a protocol according to the content in the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: control point

200: media server

210: content directory management unit

220: transmission protocol selection management unit

300: media renderer

The present invention relates to an algorithm in a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) AV system. Particularly, in a UPnP AV system, a transmission protocol optimized for a type of content when performing content streaming from a media server to a media renderer is provided. An apparatus, method, and a recording medium for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system, which is suitable for selecting and enhancing a transmission quality of content.

In general, Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) technology automatically uses Internet and Web protocols to automatically connect other devices when devices such as personal computers, peripherals, intelligent appliances, and wireless devices are connected to the network. As a technical standard for recognizing, it is widely used as middleware for controlling between devices in a home network.

Since the Plug and Play (PnP) feature has been added to the operating system, it has become much easier to install and configure computer peripherals, but UPnP provides these convenient features with Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) and HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Based on Internet standard technologies such as eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and XML, it extends to the entire network, enabling network devices such as network printers and Internet gates to be networking, especially home networking.

Therefore, UPnP AV (Audio Video) system forms a dynamic network composed of a plurality of devices, and is equipped with UPnP functions that share information with each device and enable users to use or control them effectively. It is possible to stream AV content to devices in real time.

1 is a block diagram of a conventional UPnP AV system.

Thus, the UPnP AV system includes a control point (CP) 10, a media server (MS) 20, and a media renderer (MR) 30.

The media server 20 is a UPnP device having a storage disk, such as a PC or a set-top box, which is a device for transmitting various contents stored thereon over a network, which is a content directory 21, a connection management 22, and an AV transmission 23. Provide service.

The media renderer 30 is a device that receives content from the media server 20 and delivers the content to a user. The media renderer 30 may be a playback device such as an audio player or an MP3 player, or a program such as a media player or an image viewer. The media renderer 30 provides rendering control 31, connection management 32, and AV transmission 33 services.

In the UPnP AV system, when the user selects the content of the media server 20 using the user interface (UI) of the control point 10 and the media renderer 30, the selected content is selected media renderer. And can be recycled to 30.

In this case, the control point 10 adjusts or manages operations of the media server 20 and the media renderer 30 according to a user's command. Therefore, the user can check the information about the media server 20 and the media renderer 30 existing in the current network, that is, the information about the device and the type of service provided by each device through the control point 10.

The media server 20 notifies the other devices of the content existing in the current device, and when requested by the other device, transmits them to the corresponding device in a real time streaming method. 20).

The media renderer 30 is mounted in a device capable of playing content, and plays the content transmitted from the media server 20.

In order to play media data in the UPnP AV network, media data is transmitted between the media server 20 and the media renderer 30 in a streaming manner. In this case, since the streaming method can use any of various methods, the current UPnP AV uses an out-of-band transfer protocol without specifying a streaming method.

For example, if the Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) is used for media transmission, the Real-Time Control Protocol (RTCP) can be used to monitor the transmission status of media data. I can adjust it.

The control point 10 controls the device, that is, the media server 20 and the media renderer 30 by calling a UPnP action provided based on a standardized Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). In addition, the control point 10 may subscribe to an event service provided by the device and report a change in state information of the device.

The media server 20 establishes a connection for streaming between the media server 20 and the media renderer 30 and a content directory 21 service providing a service for searching for media data managed by the server. A connection manager 22 service, an AV transport service 23 that provides control such as play and stop on media, is provided.

The media renderer 30 provides a rendering control 31 service, a connection manager service 32, and an AV transport 33 service that control screen brightness and brightness.

Therefore, the control point 10 finds the media file information of the media server 20 by using the contents directory 21 service for the found UPnP media server 20 and the media renderer 30 and connects them based on the information. Through the management (22, 32) service, a connection for media transmission can be established between the media server 20 and the media renderer 30, and the corresponding media file can be played using the AV transmission (23, 33) service. have.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a streaming method in a conventional UPnP AV system.

Thus, first, the media server 20 stores content information from devices (CDs, DVDs, USB cameras, etc.) (ST1).

The user selects the contents of the media server 20 by using the UI application of the control point (ST2).

Then, the connection protocol is established through the connection management services 22 and 32, and content streaming is performed by the AV transmission service 23 and 33 using the same transmission protocol.

However, in the conventional UPnP AV system, the selected content is streamed using the same transmission protocol. Therefore, according to this conventional method, there is a problem that the transmission quality of the content is lowered and the content satisfaction transmitted from the user's point of view is not high because the streaming is performed using the same transmission protocol regardless of the type of the content.

Therefore, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned general problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transmission protocol optimized for the type of content when performing content streaming from a media server to a media renderer in a UPnP AV system. The present invention provides an apparatus for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system, a control method thereof, and a recording medium capable of improving the transmission quality of content.

In order to achieve the above object, a device for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system according to an embodiment of the present invention,

A content directory manager to collect and directory one or more information among a name, a producer, a production date, a size, a transmission protocol, and a data format of the selected content in the media server; A transmission protocol selection manager configured to select a transmission protocol suitable for the selected content to stream the selected content when the user selects the content managed by the content directory manager; And a media renderer for receiving and playing content by a transport protocol selected by the transport protocol selection management unit.

In order to achieve the above object, a real time streaming protocol selection method in a UPnP AV system according to an embodiment of the present invention,

A first step of directorying information of content currently in the media server; A second step of selecting a protocol optimized for the selected content after the first step; And a third step of establishing a connection with the media renderer after the second step and streaming to the media renderer using an optimized protocol of the selected content.

Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention, an apparatus and method for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system, and a technical concept of a recording medium will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a block diagram of an apparatus for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown therein, the content directory manager 210 collects and directoryes one or more information among a name, a producer, a production date, a size, a transmission protocol, and a data format of the selected content in the media server 200; A transmission protocol selection management unit 220 for selecting a transmission protocol suitable for the selected content to stream the selected content when the user selects the content managed by the content directory management unit 210; And a media renderer 300 for receiving and playing content by the transport protocol selected by the transport protocol selection manager 220.

The content directory manager 210 may provide a content directory service among UPnP AV services.

The transmission protocol selection manager 220 may provide an AV transmission service among UPnP AV services.

The transport protocol selection management unit 220 selects a protocol optimized for the selected content, initializes a session with the media renderer 300, establishes a connection, and then uses the optimized protocol of the selected content to the media renderer 300. And finishes the session with the media renderer 300 when the streaming of the content is completed.

The transport protocol selection manager 220 selects a transport protocol from at least two protocols preset in the content.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of selecting a real time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown therein, a first step (ST11) for directorying information of contents currently in the media server 200; A second step (ST12, ST13) of selecting a protocol optimized for the selected content after the first step; And a third step (ST14 to ST17) of establishing a connection with the media renderer 300 after the second step and streaming to the media renderer using an optimized protocol of the selected content.

In the first step, one or more pieces of information among a name, a producer, a production date, a size, a transmission protocol, and a data format of the selected content may be collected and directoryed.

In the second step, the transport protocol may be selected from at least two protocols preset in the content.

The third step may include: an eleventh step (ST14) of establishing a connection by initiating a session with the media renderer (300); A twelfth step (ST15, ST16) of streaming to the media renderer (300) by the optimized protocol of the selected content after the eleventh step; And a thirteenth step (ST17) of terminating the session with the media renderer 300 when the streaming of the content is completed after the twelfth step.

In addition, the recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the recording medium on which a computer-readable program for performing the real-time streaming protocol selection method in the UPnP AV system.

An apparatus and method for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system according to the present invention configured as described above and a preferred embodiment of a recording medium will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or configurations will be omitted if it is determined that the detailed description of the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention. In addition, terms to be described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to intention or precedent of a user or an operator, and thus, the meaning of each term should be interpreted based on the contents throughout the present specification. will be.

First, the present invention is to improve the transmission quality of content by selecting a transmission protocol optimized for the type of content when performing content streaming from the media server to the media renderer in the UPnP AV system.

3 is a block diagram of an apparatus for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Thus, referring to FIG. 3, the streaming protocol selection algorithm includes a content directory manager 210 for collecting and managing information of content in the media server 200, and a transport protocol selection manager 220 for selecting a transport protocol for streaming content. And a media renderer 300 for playing the streamed content.

The content directory manager 210 has information about contents in the media server 200. It contains detailed information such as the name, author, date created, and size of the content. In addition, the metadata returned with this information includes information such as a transmission protocol and a data format that the server can support for specific content.

The transport protocol selection manager 220 selects and streams a transport protocol when the content selected by the user through the control point 100 is streamed to the media renderer 300.

The media renderer 300 plays the content streamed from the media server 200 on the corresponding device by the format decoder.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of selecting a real time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Thus, referring to FIG. 4, the media server 200 creates a content directory with information about the content (ST11).

When the user selects content by using the UI application of the control point 100, the user receives a content to stream (ST12).

At this time, the media server 200 searches for the content selected by the user in the content directory (ST13).

Next, the media server 200 initializes a session with the selected media renderer 300 to establish a connection with the media renderer 300 to stream the selected content (ST14).

The media server 200 selects a transmission protocol suitable for streaming content (ST15).

After the content is streamed in the selected protocol (ST16), the session ends when the content playback is completed (ST17).

5 is a structural diagram of the UPnP AV protocol used in the present invention.

Thus, the UPnP protocol structure has a transport layer including a network layer including IP (Internet Protocol), a user datagram protocol (UDP), and a transmission control protocol (TCP) as shown in the exemplary diagram of FIG. Architectures such as Transport Layer, HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), XML (eXtensible Markup Language), XML (Simple Object Access Protocol), Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP), and Generic Event Notification Architecture (GENA) It is composed of a presentation / session layer including a (Presentation / Session Layer), and an application layer including the relevant information, such as UPnP devices, forums (ForumP), operators.

Thus, two or more protocols among the protocols including the UPnP AV protocol as shown in FIG. 5 are preset in each content.

6 is a table showing an example of a protocol assigned to content when selecting a protocol according to the content in the present invention.

Therefore, when managing the content information, the content directory manager 210 of the media server 200 maps the information of the extracted devices (CDs, DVDs, USB cameras, etc.) and the corresponding content, and also maps the protocols configurable to the content. To configure the content information. Then, the transmission protocol selection management unit selects the most optimal protocol to perform the streaming when the corresponding content is transmitted.

For example, assuming that the optimal protocol for content 4 in FIG. 6 is protocol 3, if content 4 is selected by the user, the content directory manager 210 transfers the protocol included in content 4 to the transport protocol selection manager 220. 2, protocol 3, protocol 4 information is transmitted. The transport protocol selection manager 220 selects protocol 3 which is the most optimal protocol in the content 4 to perform streaming.

In the above, the content streaming protocol selection algorithm in the UPnP AV system according to the present invention can be implemented in software, can be applied to various contents as well as AV, and can be applied to various network environments in addition to UPnP.

As described above, the apparatus, method and recording medium for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in the UPnP AV system according to the present invention can effectively stream content by selecting a transport protocol optimized for the content.

Although the above has been described as being limited to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto and various changes, modifications, and equivalents may be used. Therefore, the present invention can be applied by appropriately modifying the above embodiments, it will be obvious that such application also belongs to the scope of the present invention based on the technical idea described in the claims below.

Claims (10)

A content directory manager to collect and directory one or more information among a name, a producer, a production date, a size, a transmission protocol, and a data format of the selected content in the media server; A transmission protocol selection manager configured to select a transmission protocol suitable for the selected content to stream the selected content when the user selects the content managed by the content directory manager; A media renderer for receiving and playing content by a transport protocol selected by the transport protocol selection manager; Device for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in the UPnP AV system, characterized in that configured to include. The method according to claim 1, The content directory manager, An apparatus for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system, characterized by providing a content directory service among UPnP AV services. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The transport protocol selection management unit, An apparatus for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system, characterized by providing an AV transmission service among UPnP AV services. The method according to claim 3, The transport protocol selection management unit, Select a protocol optimized for the selected content, initiate a session with the media renderer to establish a connection, stream to the media renderer with the optimized protocol for the selected content, and when the streaming of content is complete, session with the media renderer. Apparatus for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in the UPnP AV system, characterized in that to operate to terminate. The method according to claim 3, The transport protocol selection management unit, An apparatus for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system, characterized in that the transmission protocol is selected from at least two protocols preset in the content. A first step of directorying information of content currently in the media server; A second step of selecting a protocol optimized for the selected content after the first step; Establishing a connection with the media renderer after the second step and streaming to the media renderer using an optimized protocol of the selected content; Real-time streaming protocol selection method in the UPnP AV system, characterized in that performed including. The method according to claim 6, The first step is, A method for selecting a real-time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system, characterized by collecting one or more information among a name, a producer, a production date, a size, a transmission protocol, and a data format of a selected content. The method according to claim 6, The second step, A method of selecting a real time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system, characterized in that the transmission protocol is selected from at least two protocols preset in the content. The method according to claim 6, The third step, An eleventh step of establishing a connection by initiating a session with the media renderer; A twelfth step of streaming to the media renderer by an optimized protocol of the selected content after the eleventh step; A thirteenth step of terminating a session with the media renderer when the streaming of the content is completed after the twelfth step; Real-time streaming protocol selection method in the UPnP AV system, characterized in that performed including. A recording medium having recorded thereon a computer readable program for performing a method for selecting a real time streaming protocol in a UPnP AV system according to any one of claims 6 to 9.

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