KR20090089712A - Method of playing continuous contents in series in video-on-demand system and video-on-demand apparatus thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of playing continuous contents in series in a video-on-demand system and a video-on-demand apparatus thereof are provided to reproduce and watch a series of video contents without disconnection and waste of time. It is checked whether current video contents are a series of contents in meta data(S110). Previous video contents of current video contents and an intrinsic number of the next image contents are checked in the meta data(S120). The previous video contents or the next video contents are downloaded(S130). Reproduction of the previous video contents or the next video contents are initiated(S140).

Description

FIELD OF PLAYING CONTINUOUS CONTENTS IN SERIES IN VIDEO-ON-DEMAND SYSTEM AND VIDEO-ON-DEMAND APPARATUS THEREOF

The present invention relates to a method of playing video contents in an Internet TV or video on demand (VOD) service, and more particularly, to a method of sequentially playing video contents constituting a series of series. The present invention relates to a series water continuous regeneration method and an apparatus using the same.

Due to the development of Internet technology, video on demand (VOD) enables a viewer to arbitrarily select and watch video contents stored in a server in place of a broadcasting system that passively receives video contents broadcast unilaterally from a broadcaster. Video On Demand (broadcasting) broadcasting systems are becoming widely available.

In the early days of Internet technology, such a video on demand broadcasting system has been implemented by connecting to a video content server through a terminal device such as a PC and selecting and watching a desired broadcast. For example, streaming methods using Microsoft's MMS (Multimedia Streaming) protocol and Window Media Player, the corresponding QuickTime and Real Network of Apple Computer. Networks, such as streaming methods such as real players (in this category) can be included in this category. Recently, it has been developed to connect a separate set-top box to a television receiver or to selectively receive and reproduce desired video content using a television receiver with a built-in set-top box.

This video-on-demand method is commercialized in the market so that viewers can arbitrarily select and watch thousands or tens of thousands of video contents stored in parallel with the real-time broadcasting similar to the real-time broadcasting of the conventional terrestrial broadcaster, which is currently being developed under the name of Internet TV. It is becoming.

One method of the video on demand method is a method of reproducing while continuously receiving video data constituting one video content from a video content server, similarly to the conventional streaming method. In this case, a technique of preventing a break or unnaturalness of an image may be applied while maintaining a predetermined buffering amount.

Another method is download and play. When the video content to be played is selected, the video data of the video content is downloaded, and when a certain amount of video data is downloaded before all the video data is downloaded, playback starts immediately. Viewers can not only watch the video contents without waiting for the time required for the entire video data to be downloaded, but because the download is continuously performed in parallel with the playback of the video contents, the streaming method buffers only a small amount of the predetermined amount. The advantage is that you can take advantage of the fast forward, rewind, and find play positions. To this end, the receiving side of the video on demand using the download and play method has sufficient storage space.

On the other hand, as a video content that can be watched by the video on demand method, there is a 'series water' that proceeds with a series of episodes such as dramas and documentaries. In addition, the series may be a series of video contents to be reproduced in a series of orders specified by the transmission provider excluding dramas or documentaries. For example, it may be a case where image contents are combined and reproduced in the order of an external advertisement-self advertisement-main body-self advertisement.

At this time, for efficient operation of the line and convenient viewing of the user, a method for automatically reproducing the video contents constituting the series according to the times is required. The next time when one video content is completed or stopped, the next time is required. There is a need for a method for reducing the download time of the next next video content required until the start of playback of the video content.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems, in the playback of a series of video content consisting of a series, the inconvenience of having to select a series of video content, or video on which can reduce the disconnection of time for download To provide a series of continuous water recycling method of the demand system.

Another object of the present invention for solving the above problems, in the playback of a series of video content consisting of a series, the inconvenience of having to select a series of video content, or video that can reduce the disconnection of time for download An on demand playback apparatus is provided.

One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object of the present invention, the series water continuous playback method, comprising: checking whether the current video content is a series of water; And downloading at least a portion of a previous video content or a next video content of the current video content during the playback or downloading of the current video content, when it is identified as a series of water. .

Here, the checking whether the series is water may be configured to check the metadata including the information of the current video content or the ID of the current video content. In this case, the metadata or the ID of the current image content may include at least one of a series ID and episode information, and determine whether the current image content is a series using at least one of the series ID and episode information. Can be.

Here, the metadata or the image content ID may be configured to include a unique number, series ID, and in-series turn information of at least one image content.

Here, the metadata may be downloaded as information separate from the image contents.

The method may further include starting playback of the previous video content or the next video content of the current video content when the playback of the current video content is completed or stopped. In this case, the step of starting to play the next next video content, when the playback of the current video content is completed or stopped, the user is asked whether to start the playback of the previous video content or the next video content, and according to the query result, It may be configured to start playback of the previous video content or the next video content.

Another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object of the present invention, in the series water continuous playback method, to download the previous video content or the next video content of the current video content during the playback or download of the current video content that is a series. Specifying; And downloading at least a portion of the designated previous video content or next video content during playback or download of the current video content.

Another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object of the present invention comprises the steps of designating to download the second video content during playback or download of the first video content; And downloading at least a part of the second video content during playback or download of the first video content.

The video content continuous playback method may include reproducing the second video content after completion of playback of the first video content or upon interruption of playback.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a download execution unit configured to receive an image content being played or to be reproduced from an image content server; A storage unit including an image content storage unit which stores the downloaded image content by the download execution unit; A content reproducing unit reproducing the image content stored in the image content storing unit; And identifying a previous video content or a next video content of the current video content being played or downloaded, controlling the download execution unit to download at least a portion of the identified previous video content or the next video content, and controlling the content playback unit to control the content playback unit. Provided is a video on demand video reproducing apparatus including a control unit which starts playback of the previous video content or the next video content after the playback of the currently playing video content.

Here, the controller may be configured to determine whether the current video content is a series through metadata including the information of the current video content or an ID of the current video content.

When using the series water continuous playback method in the video on demand system according to the present invention as described above, after the playback of one video content when viewing the video content constituting the series water, the previous video content or the next It is possible to seamlessly play back and watch the series without selecting a video content, or wasting time waiting for download to play the previous video content or the next video content.

In addition, the series is a series of video contents (e.g., video contents to be played in a sequence of external advertisements, internal advertisements, and the main story) to be reproduced in a series of orders specified by the transmission provider. In this case, instead of pre-editing and generating a series of video contents into a single video content, the video contents can be easily reproduced in a series of orders simply by modifying metadata or granting a video content ID.

As the present invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals are used for similar elements.

Terms such as first, second, A, and B may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component. The term and / or includes a combination of a plurality of related items or any item of a plurality of related items.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art, and are not construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

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

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of continuously playing series water includes determining whether the current video content is a series water, and when the series water is identified as a series water, the previous video content or the next video content of the current video content during playback or download of the current video content. It may be configured to include at least a part of the download.

In this case, the previous video content of the current video content may be the video content of the next immediately preceding the current video content, or may be the video content of the next selected by the user, for example, the previous video content. In this case, the user may designate the previous video content by inputting a turn number, or, if not specified, the immediately previous turn video content of the current video content may be basically set.

Similarly, the next video content of the current video content may be the next video content immediately after the current video content, or may be the next video content selected by the user, for example, the next video content. In this case as well, the user may input the next number to designate the next video content. Otherwise, the next next video content of the current video content may be basically set.

In this way, the user may designate the next playback target video content to be next to the current video content as the previous video content or the next video content of the current video content, or specifically, input and specify a turn of the next playback video content. . It may be a video content designated by a user to play the next video content, the next video content, and the current video content, which will be described below, and may be the immediately preceding next video content or the next next video content by default. have.

On the other hand, the series generally refers to a series of video contents collectively grouped by the continuity of the content included in the video content, such as a series of drama or documentary, but the 'series' referred to in the present invention Water 'is not only a concept of a general series grouped by the continuity of the above-mentioned content, but also a group of video contents that need to be reproduced while maintaining a series of order by a video content provider or a viewer (for example, , A series of playback of specific video content and advertisement content, and a bundle of video contents having a specific theme for convenience).

As a specific embodiment of the series water continuous playback method according to the present invention, it may be implemented by 1) using meta data, and 2) using ID of image content. Hereinafter, an embodiment of a series water continuous regeneration method according to the present invention will be described based on the two methods, but it should be noted that the two methods are not exclusively applied but may be implemented by mutual combination.

1) Series water continuous regeneration method using meta data

Herein, the meta data means information including a unique number of video content, a series ID of the video content, and in-series turn information of the video content. Meanwhile, the metadata may be downloaded from an image content server or a separate metadata server as information separate from the image content.

1 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a series water continuous regeneration method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the method of continuously playing series water according to the present invention may include checking whether the current video content is a series water (S110), and identifying a unique number of a previous video content or a next video content of the current video content. The method may include the step S120 of checking the metadata, downloading the previous video content or the next video content S130, and starting playback of the previous video content or the next video content S140.

The step of checking whether the image content is a series item in the metadata (S110) is a step of checking whether the current image content is a series item in the metadata. Here, the current video content refers to video content currently being played or downloaded. Therefore, this step (S110) is a step of confirming from the metadata whether the video content is a series using a unique number of the video content currently being played or downloaded.

2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration example of meta data that can be used in one embodiment of a series water continuous reproduction method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the meta data 200 for the series water continuous playback method includes a unique number 201 of video content, a series ID 202 of the video content, and turn information 203 in a series of maritime video content. It can be configured to include. In addition, the metadata may include information such as a title 204 of the corresponding video content. Here, since the unique number 201 of the image content means a number for uniquely identifying each of the image contents, all the image contents have unique values. The series ID 202 of the video content is a unique ID given to a series for identifying a series to which each video content belongs. Therefore, the same series ID is assigned to image contents belonging to the same series. That is, the unique number 201 and the series ID 202 are not merely physically separated, but merely conceptual classification, and the unique number 201 and the series ID 202 are unique to each image content. To identify them.

Next, in-series turn information of video content means in-series turn of video content belonging to the same series. For example, in the case of a series composed of 30 pieces, image contents having the same series ID having turn information of 1 to 30 are included.

Referring to FIG. 2, the metadata 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes information on a total of six image contents 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, and 260. For example, the first video content 210 is designated as 'C001' as the unique number of the video content, 'S1001' as the series ID of the video content, and '1' as the turn information of the video content. In addition, a title (eg, 'drama episode 1') of the corresponding video content may be included in the metadata. Next, as image content constituting the same series (series ID 'S1001'), it can be confirmed that related information is stored in metadata of the second image content 220 and the third image content 230.

Therefore, the step (S110) of checking whether the image content is a series item in the metadata may be performed by searching for a unique number of the current image content in the metadata to confirm related information.

For example, if the first video content 210 is currently being played or downloaded, the series ID of the corresponding video content is designated as 'S1001' using the unique number C1001 of the first video content 210 in the metadata. Alternatively, the turn information value of the corresponding video content may be filled with '1' to determine whether the video content is a series of video content. If the video content is not a series, the series ID field of the metadata may be filled with a NULL value or a predetermined value (eg, '1111') indicating that the series is not a series. Similarly, when the video content is not a series, the turn information field of metadata may be filled with a NULL value or the like.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in operation S120, when a unique number of the previous video content or the next video content is identified in the metadata, when the current video content is a series, the previous video content or the next video content of the current video content may be selected. A unique number is identified in the metadata.

For example, in step S110 of confirming whether the image content is a series item in metadata, it is determined whether the first image content 210 currently being played or downloaded is a series item, and therefore, the corresponding series ID S1001 and the corresponding information (1). Using the same series ID, the unique information (C1002) of the video content having the same series ID but larger than the turn information (1) of the first video content 210 by 1 can be searched in the metadata. That is, it can be seen that the second video content 220 is the next video content belonging to the same series of water as the first video content 210.

Next, the downloading of the previous video content or the next video content (S130) is a step of downloading at least a portion of the next next video content by using a unique number of the next next video content of the current video content.

In this case, the download may be made while the current video content is being played or downloaded.

3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a download time point of a next playback video content in a series water continuous playback method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the next playback video content (ie, the previous video content of the current video content or the next video content in parallel with the download 301 of the video content currently being played at the time point 310 at which the playback 302 of the current video content is in progress) is performed. The download 303 of the next video content may be started. Therefore, it is preferable that the transmission line speed of the video content is higher than the playback bitrate of the video contents, and even if the two video contents are downloaded in parallel, the playback of the current video contents may not be affected. When the playback time of the video contents is short, instant continuous playback can be performed, so that the download timing of the next playback video content can be pulled forward as much as possible.

On the other hand, in the case of the download and play method, since the video content is played at a point in time when a predetermined amount of download is made before all of the video content is downloaded, the time interval 311 starts playing in the download and play method. This means a time interval in which the minimum amount of download is completed.

Finally, the step of starting playback of the previous video content or the next video content (S140) is a step of starting playback of the next playback target video content when the playback of the current video content is completed or stopped.

Referring to FIG. 3, a process of seamlessly playing the next playback target video content 304 at the time when the playback 302 of the current video content is completed or stopped is described. Therefore, when the playback of the video content currently being played is completed or stopped, it may be configured to automatically start playback of the next playback target video content.

However, when the playback of the current video content is completed or stopped, it may be configured to simply query the user whether to start playback of the next playback target video content and start playback of the downloaded video content according to the query result. For example, a predetermined query screen may be displayed on the display screen and configured to start playback of the next playback target video content through brief user selection (for example, button input).

Meanwhile, in the step of starting playback of the previous video content or the next video content (S140), the playback of the previous video content or the next video content is performed not only when the playback of the current video content is completed but also when the playback of the current video content is stopped. It is described as starting.

That is, the playback of the previous video content or the next video content starts even when the playback of the current video content is terminated by the user's selection (when the playback is stopped). For example, in the case of specific video content constituting the series, contents such as producer description, cast description, and the like following the contents of the main content of the video content may be repeatedly included. In the case where the image reproduction is terminated, the reproduction of the previous image content or the next image content may be started.

2) Series water continuous playback using video content ID

Here, the video content ID is an ID corresponding to the video content existing in the video content server, and constitutes IDs assigned to distinguish the video content existing in the video content server from the video content reproducing apparatus. For example, the image content server may be configured to match the file name of the image contents existing in the server with the image content ID, or may configure a predetermined table to map the image content ID and the image contents existing in the server.

4 is a flowchart for explaining another embodiment of a series water continuous regeneration method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, in the method of continuously playing series water according to the present invention, checking whether the current video content is a series water (S210), and checking the previous video content or the next video content ID of the current video content in the current video. And inferring from the ID of the content (S220), downloading the previous video content or the next video content (S230), and starting playback of the previous video content or the next video content (S240).

Downloading the previous video content or the next video content constituting another embodiment of the series water continuous playback method according to the present invention illustrated in Figure 4 (S230), starting the playback of the previous video content or the next video content ( S240 may be the same as the corresponding steps (S130, S140) of one embodiment of the series water continuous regeneration method according to the present invention illustrated in FIG.

Therefore, in FIG. 4, in operation S210, whether the current video content is a series item, the ID of the video content is different from the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. It will be described based on the step of inferring from the ID (S220).

FIG. 5 is a conceptual view illustrating a configuration example of an image content ID that may be used in another embodiment of a series water continuous playback method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, in another embodiment of the series water continuous playback method according to the present invention, unlike the metadata illustrated in FIG. 2, an image for enabling continuous water series playback using an ID assigned to each video content is provided. Some configuration examples of the content ID are shown.

Referring to FIG. 5, the video content ID 500 may include a unique number 501 of the video content, a series ID 502 of the video content, and an in-series turn number 503 of the video content. . For example, the video content ID may include a unique number of 5 bytes of video content, a series ID of 5 bytes, and 1 or 2 bytes of turn information.

In this case, unlike the case of the embodiment using the above metadata, the video content constituting one series of water is preferably configured to have the same number portion of the video content, and the reason for such a configuration will be described later. If the unique number parts of the video content in the ID of the video content are identically configured for the video contents constituting the same series, the series ID 502 is omitted from the video content ID. Can be.

6 is an example of ID configuration of video contents for explaining another embodiment of a series of water continuous playback method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the first image content includes a unique number C1001, a series ID S1001, and turn information 1, and includes an image content ID 510. Similarly, the ID 520 and the third image content 530 of the second image content may be configured.

First, the step of checking whether the current video content is a series item in the ID of the video content (S210) may be performed by determining whether the video content is a series item using series ID or turnaround information included in the ID of the current video content being played or downloaded. This step is to check. The process of checking whether the image content is a series of water by using the series ID or the series information may be performed similarly to the step S110 described with reference to FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 6, if the first video content 510 is being played or downloaded, it is determined whether the corresponding video content is a series by determining whether a real series ID S1001 is written in a series ID portion of the video content ID. It is possible to check. If the video content is not the video content constituting the series, whether the series content is filled with a NULL value or filled with a predetermined value (eg, '1111') of the ID of the video content. It may be configured to determine whether or not.

Next, inferring the previous video content or the next video content ID from the ID of the current video content (S220), if the video content is a series, the previous video of the video content by using a series number of the video content ID. The ID of the current video content is determined using the content or the next video content ID.

For example, if the first video content 510 is being played or is being played, among the video contents having the video content IDs illustrated in FIG. 6, the next next video content of the first video content is a part of the first information. It can be inferred that the ID increased by 1 is the ID of the next next video content 520.

Thus, it may be possible to determine the previous video content or the next video content ID in this manner. As mentioned above, the video content unique number of the video content ID is preferably configured to be the same in the case of the video content belonging to the same series, thereby reducing or increasing only the recurring information portion of the ID of the currently selected video content. By making the ID of the previous video content or the next video content ID can be easily inferred.

The step of downloading the previous video content or the next video content proceeds thereafter (S230), and starting the playback of the previous video content or the next video content (S240) as described above, in the present invention illustrated in FIG. Since the corresponding steps S130 and S140 of the exemplary embodiment of the series water continuous regeneration method may be performed in the same manner, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video on demand video playback apparatus to which the series water continuous playback method according to the present invention is applied.

Here, the video on demand video reproducing apparatus is a name encompassing a video reproducing apparatus that can operate in a video on demand system in association with an image content server, and includes a set top box, a television receiver with a set top box, a stationary or portable multimedia reproducing terminal. Various types of devices may be encompassed.

Referring to FIG. 7, the video reproducing apparatus 700 to which the series water continuous reproducing method according to the present invention is applied includes a download execution unit 710, a storage unit 720 including an image content storage unit 721, and a content reproduction unit. 730 and the control unit 740 may be configured.

In addition, if an embodiment of the series water continuous playback method according to the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1 is applied to the video playback apparatus 700 according to the present invention, the metadata storage unit 722 is included in the storage unit 720. Can be configured.

First, the download execution unit 710 is a component that receives the video content to be reproduced or to be reproduced from the image content server. Accordingly, the download execution unit 710 continuously downloads the data of the video content currently being played from the video content server, or downloads the data of the video content selected to start playback by the user to the storage unit 720 which will be described later. It is configured to store in the included image content storage unit 721.

Accordingly, the download execution unit 710 is configured to include a network device that can communicate with the video content server that stores the user-selectable video content using the Internet Protocol (IP).

The storage unit 720 may be configured using various storage devices as a component that stores the image content that is being played or should be played by the download execution unit 710. The storage unit may be typically configured using a large capacity optical disk drive (ODD) or a hard disk drive (HDD), or may be configured using a nonvolatile memory device such as a solid-state drive (SSD). . Alternatively, a storage unit may be configured using volatile memory devices (eg, DRAM or SRAM) if a high data input / output speed is required for the storage unit and power is always applied to the storage unit.

The content reproducing unit 730 is a component that decodes the image contents corresponding to a format in which the downloaded image contents are encoded, generates an image signal, and outputs the image signal to the display apparatus. As an encoded format of the image contents, for example, an image format such as MPEG 2 or MPEG 4 may be selectively employed.

Therefore, the content reproducing unit may be configured to include a decoder implemented in hardware or software. In general, implementations with dedicated decoder chips implemented in hardware will be chosen if high speed decoding operations and unloading of other system components are desired, but flexible processors and support are needed to support versatile and diverse video formats. A decoder of software implementation may be selected that includes decoder software. However, since image contents existing in the image content server are often prepared by being encoded by a predefined encoding format, an implementation using a dedicated decoder chip implemented in hardware will be more preferable.

Lastly, the control unit 740 identifies a previous video content or a next video content of the current video content being played or downloaded, and controls the download execution unit 710 to at least a part of the identified previous video content or the next video content. After downloading the content control unit 730 controls the content playback unit 730 to start the playback of the previous video content or the next video content when the playback of the video content currently being played.

That is, the control unit 740 is a component for performing the method of continuously regenerating the series water according to the present invention described above with reference to FIG. 1 or FIG. 4. In this case, the operation of the controller 740 may be implemented as 1) operating using metadata and 2) operating using a content ID, as described above with reference to FIG. 1 or 4. The controller 740 may include a program code in which the operations 1) and 2) are implemented, a memory device in which the program code is mounted, and a processor unit capable of executing the program code. .

First, a case in which the control unit 740 operates using the content ID will be described.

In this case, the controller 740 may determine whether the currently playing video content is a series item by using the ID (the video content ID illustrated in FIG. 5) of the current video content being played or downloaded. That is, it is possible to check whether the corresponding video content is a series according to whether the actual series ID is written in the series ID portion of the video content ID currently being played or the actual turn information is written in the turn information portion of the video content ID. .

Next, when the video content currently being played is a series, the controller 740 may infer the ID of the previous video content or the next video content from the ID of the current video content.

Finally, the controller 740 is configured to start downloading at least a portion of the previous video content or the next video content during playback or download of the current video content by using the inferred previous video content or next video content ID.

Secondly, a case in which the control unit 740 operates by using meta data will be described.

At this time, the storage unit 720 of the video playback apparatus 700 according to the present invention may further include a metadata storage unit 722 for storing the metadata, the metadata is a download execution unit ( The data may be downloaded through the 710 and stored in the metadata storage 722. In addition, the metadata may be downloaded from an image content server storing image contents, or may be downloaded from a server (eg, a metadata server) that exists separately from the image content server.

In this case, the controller 740 may use the metadata stored in the metadata storage 722 to determine whether the current video content being played or downloaded is a series item in the metadata. That is, it may be determined whether the current video content is a series by using whether the series ID or turn information of the current video content is included in the metadata.

Next, when the current video content is a series, the controller 740 may determine the unique number of the previous video content or the next video content of the current video content from the metadata.

Finally, the controller 740 is configured to start downloading at least a portion of the previous video content or the next video content during playback of the current video content by using the identified unique number of the previous video content or the next video content.

In both cases, the controller 740 may start the playback of the previous video content or the next video content that has downloaded at least a part when the playback of the video content currently being played is completed or stopped. Through this, when the playback of one video content constituting the series is completed or stopped, the user can select the next video content to play again, or watch the video continuously without waiting for the time required for downloading the next video content. It becomes possible.

Although described above with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be variously modified and changed within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

1 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a series water continuous regeneration method according to the present invention.

2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration example of meta data that can be used in one embodiment of a series water continuous reproduction method according to the present invention.

3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a download time point of the next episode video content in the series water continuous playback method according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart for explaining another embodiment of a series water continuous regeneration method according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual view illustrating a configuration example of an image content ID that may be used in another embodiment of a series water continuous playback method according to the present invention.

6 is an example of ID configuration of video contents for explaining another embodiment of a series of water continuous playback method according to the present invention.

7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video on demand video playback apparatus to which the series water continuous playback method according to the present invention is applied.

Claims (12)

In the series water continuous regeneration method, Checking whether the current image content is a series; And And if it is identified as a series water, downloading at least a portion of a previous video content or a next video content of the current video content during playback or download of the current video content. The method of claim 1, The step of determining whether the series is water includes the step of checking through the metadata including the information of the current video content or the ID of the current video content series water continuous playback method of a video on demand system. The method of claim 2, The metadata or the ID of the current video content includes at least one of a series ID and episode information, and determines whether the current video content is a series using at least one of the series ID and episode information. Series water continuous regeneration method of on demand system. The method of claim 2, The metadata or the video content ID includes a unique number of at least one video content, a series ID, and in-series turn information. The method of claim 2, And the metadata is downloaded as information separate from the video contents. The method of claim 1, And starting playback of a previous video content or a next video content of the current video content when the playback of the current video content is completed or interrupted. . The method of claim 6, Starting playback of the next episode video content may include: When the playback of the current video content is completed or stopped, the user is asked whether to start playing the previous video content or the next video content, and according to the query result, the playback of the previous video content or the next video content is started. A series of water continuous playback methods of video on demand systems. A download execution unit which receives the video content which is being played or is to be played back from the video content server; A storage unit including an image content storage unit which stores the downloaded image content by the download execution unit; A content reproducing unit reproducing the image content stored in the image content storing unit; And Grasp the previous video content or the next video content of the current video content being played or downloaded, control the download execution unit to download at least a portion of the identified previous video content or the next video content, and control the content playback unit to control the current And a control unit which starts playback of the previous video content or the next video content when playback of the video content being played is completed or stopped. The method of claim 8, The controller may determine whether the current video content is a series through the metadata including the information of the current video content or the ID of the current video content. In the series water continuous regeneration method, Designating to download a previous video content or a next video content of the current video content while playing or downloading a current video content that is a series; And And downloading at least a portion of the designated previous video content or next video content during playback or download of the current video content. Designating to download the second image content during playback or download of the first image content; And And downloading at least a portion of the second video content during playback or download of the first video content. The method of claim 11, And reproducing the second image content after the reproduction of the first image content is completed or when the reproduction is stopped.

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