KR20140134100A - Method for generating user video and Apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a method for generating a user image and a device therefor. According to the present invention, an image management server device, which is connected to a client device through a network, comprises: a segment generating unit to divide content provided by a broadcast provider or an individual into multiple segments; a segment storing unit to store the generated segments; and a user image generating unit to extract and synthesize the segments selected by the client device from the segment storing unit and to generate a user image.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a method for generating a user image,

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for generating a user image, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for allowing a user to easily create a desired image using a content created or recorded by a broadcasting company or an individual.

With advances in information and communication technologies, each user is increasingly inclined to share his / her desired content with other users, rather than simply consuming various contents provided online.

For this purpose, in order to generate video contents desired by each user, it is necessary to take a desired image using a photographing device having a camera function, and then edit it. However, it is very cumbersome and difficult to search for a suitable place to take a desired image or to contact a cast. In addition, a highly skilled technique is required for each individual to directly edit a photographed image using the photographing equipment.

As another example, various kinds of images can be synthesized by using chroma key when producing video contents, but the equipment for synthesizing using chroma key is very expensive and difficult to be used by general users.

In order to solve the problems of the related art as described above, the present invention proposes a method of generating a user image and a device therefor, in which a user can easily create a desired content using contents provided through various paths .

Other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following examples.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video management server apparatus connected to a client device through a network, the apparatus comprising: a segment generation unit for dividing contents provided from a broadcasting company or an individual into a plurality of segments; A segment storage unit for storing the generated plurality of segments; And a user image generation unit for extracting and combining the segment selected by the client device from the segment storage unit to generate a user image.

Each of the plurality of segments is composed of n frames (n is a natural number of 1 or more), and the first frame of each of the plurality of segments may include an intra-coded (I) frame.

Wherein the segment generating unit generates a first segment by using a previous frame of the content, and when the next frame of the last frame included in the first segment is not an I-frame, The first I-frame can be generated.

Wherein the segment generating unit generates the segment by using the P-frame or B-frame and the image data previously stored in the B-frame when the last frame included in the first segment is a P (Predictive coded) The first I-frame of the second segment may be generated.

Wherein when the first I-frame and the second I-frame are consecutively displayed in the frame constituting the content, the segment generating unit generates the segment when the first I-frame and the second I- A segment beginning with a second I-frame may be generated.

And a user storage for storing the user image.

A content storage unit for storing the content and meta data of the content; And a segment management unit that manages metadata of each of the generated segments. When a content or segment search request of the client device is received, the user image generation unit generates content metadata managed by the content storage unit, Referring to the segment metadata managed by the segment management unit, the content or segment requested to be searched can be searched.

The user image generating unit may transmit an interface for content search and segment editing to the client device.

The content is a live program provided from a broadcasting company. When a user's recording request for the live program is received, an ingester for generating a recording content by extracting and synthesizing segments of the live program requested to be recorded, As shown in FIG.

The segment storage unit may store each segment of the live program as a storage path according to at least one of broadcast channel identification information, date information, and time information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of generating a user image in a video management server connected to a client device via a network, the method comprising: dividing contents provided from a broadcasting company or an individual into a plurality of segments; Storing the generated plurality of segments; And extracting and combining the segment selected in the client device from the segment storage unit to generate a user image.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium on which a program for performing the above-described method is recorded.

According to the present invention, since the registered content is divided into a plurality of segments and stored, and the user image can be generated by synthesizing the images in units of segments, the user image generating method is advantageous.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user image generation system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a video management server according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a view showing a detailed configuration of a user image generating unit according to the present invention;
4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an interface for user image generation according to the present invention;
5 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a video management server according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an interface for user image generation according to another embodiment of the present invention;
7 is a flowchart of a user image generation process according to the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

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

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a user image generation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system according to the present invention may include a video management server 100 and a client device 102 connected to the video management server 100 through a network.

The video management server 100 collects and stores content provided by a broadcasting company or an individual.

The contents provided by the broadcasting company may include a live program provided in real time or a program provided on demand.

Preferably, when there is a user's recording request for a live program, the video management server 100 may generate a segment for a live program as described below, and may synthesize and store and manage the recorded program as a recorded content.

The content provided by the individual may include any content created by an individual himself or created by editing the live program and the on-demand program described above.

The video management server 100 stores and manages contents and meta data provided from a broadcasting company and provides content requested to be searched when a user's search request is made through the client device 102. [

Here, the client device 102 may be an electronic device equipped with a wired / wireless communication module such as a mobile communication terminal, a notepad, a tablet PC, a computer, and the like as well as a general broadcast receiving device such as a set-top box and a TV.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the video management server 100 generates a plurality of segments by segmenting the collected content by a predetermined time unit.

Here, the segment is defined as a fragment obtained by dividing the content in units of seconds or minutes at the same time, and may be defined as a unit that can be reproduced or displayed by itself in the client device 102, preferably including the I-frame.

The segment creation process will be described in detail below.

The video management server 100 stores and manages segment metadata, which is description information on the generated segment.

According to the present invention, a user can search for and check content on a segment basis using the client device 102, and can combine (synthesize) segments to generate a user image desired by the user.

The user image may be transmitted in a streaming manner to the client device 102 on a cloud basis.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a video management server according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2, the video management server 100 according to the present invention includes a content storage unit 200, a segment generation unit 202, a segment storage unit 204, a segment management unit 206, A user storage 210, and a user image providing unit 212. The user storage 210 may include a user interface 210,

The content storage unit 200 stores content and metadata provided by a broadcasting company or an individual.

According to the present invention, contents provided from a broadcasting company can be a live program and an on-demand program provided through a TV.

Further, in order to generate various user images, the contents provided by the broadcasting company may include a non-broadcast image, a program having different scenarios, and the like.

Here, a program having different scenarios may be a program in which the same character exists but the ending part is different.

The content metadata may be description information on the content, and may include channel information of a predetermined live program, a program name, a broadcast time per scene, a performer, a plot, a keyword, and the like according to a scene.

The segment generation unit 202 divides the video data of the content to generate a segment.

In general, the content may include an intra-coded (I) frame, a predictive coded (P) -frame and a bidirectionally interpolated (B) -frame.

Here, the I-frame is an encoded frame, the frame generated by predicting the P-frame and the preceding frame, and the B-frame predicted using the preceding and following frames.

According to the present invention, the segment is an independently reproducible unit, and therefore, each segment must include an I-frame.

The segment generation process will be described in detail below.

- Initial frame: I1-B1-B2-B3-P1-I2-B4-B5-B6-P2-P3-I3-I4-B7-P4-

Assuming that there is an initial frame as described above, a unit of segment is one second, and three frames per second are included, the frame is changed as follows.

- Modified frames: I1-B1-B2-I101-B3-P1-I102 - I2-B4-I103-B5-B6-I104-P2-P3-I3-I4-B7-P4-

That is, an I-frame is generated every second and a segment can be generated based on the generated I-frame.

First segment = I1-B1-B2

Second segment = I101-B3-P1

Third segment = I102-I2-B4

Fourth segment = I103-B5-B6

The fifth segment = I104-P2-P3

Sixth Segment = I3

Seventh Segment = I4-B7-P4

Here, I101, I102, I103, and I104 are newly generated I-frames for allowing each segment to be reproducible, and these are I-frames generated based on the last frame (B2, P1, B4, B6) I-frame.

Since the data for I-frame generation is stored in advance in the memory (not shown), it is possible to generate I-frames using the last frame of the previous segment as described above.

In the above, if I3 and I4 in which the I-frames are consecutively displayed are non-continuous images, that is, the scene in which the scene change occurs, the segment in the scene in which the scene change occurs generates a segment including only one I- do.

The plurality of segments thus generated are temporarily stored in the segment storage unit 204.

Segment storage 204 may be defined as buffer storage.

Segments may be stored in the segment storage unit 204 with the following storage paths.

[Raw file folder] / [Broadcast channel identification information] / [Date and time information (date)] / [Hour minute]

RAW / Ch X / 20120123/000000 / * 00:00 00:00 00:00 00:00 01:00 Video * /

/ RAW / Ch X / 20120123/000001 / * Video from 00:00 01:00 to 00:00 02:02 * /

/ RAW / Ch X / 20120123/000002 / * Video from 00:00 to 02:00 to 00:00:03 seconds * /

In the case where the content has the storage path as described above, the content is a broadcast program such as a live program. If the content is not a live program, the segment storage unit 204 stores the segment in the storage path of the content identification information and the time information of each segment .

The segment management unit 206 stores and manages meta data for each segment. The segment metadata may be description information for each segment, and may include information about a character in a segment, a scene situation, a place, and the like.

The user image generation unit 208 provides an interface for generating a user image to the client device 102 and receives a content search request, a segment search request, and segment selection information performed on the interface to generate a user image.

3 is a detailed block diagram of a user image generating unit according to the present invention.

3, the user image generating unit 208 according to the present invention includes an interface providing unit 300, a content searching unit 302, a segment combining unit 304, and a segment searching unit 306 .

The interface providing unit 300 transmits an interface for generating a user image to the client device 102.

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an interface for user image generation according to the present invention.

4, the interface according to the present invention may include a content search area 400, a content display area 402, a segment combining area 404, and a segment search area 406.

When the user inputs a content name into the input window included in the content search area 400 and requests a search, the content searching unit 302 searches for the content requested by the user and transmits the retrieved content to the client device 102 do.

According to the present invention, information transmitted to the client device 102 may include time information and identification information of each segment in addition to identification information (content name, broadcasting company, etc.) of the retrieved content as shown in FIG.

4, content searched in the content display area 402 is output in a segment unit.

A segment according to the present invention is an independently playable unit, and when a user selects one of a plurality of segments, an image for the selected segment can be displayed on the interface.

When the user selects one of the segments displayed in the content display area 402, the selected segment is added to the segment combination area 404.

The segment combining unit 304 extracts and synthesizes the segment selected by the user in the segment storing unit 204, and generates a user image.

Referring to FIG. 4, a user image is generated using segments 2233, 2234, and 2237 of the first content and segments 10234 and 10238 of the second content.

The interface according to the present invention further includes a segment search area 406, which is an area for performing search on a segment basis, not on content.

When the user inputs a predetermined search word into the input window included in the segment search area 406, the search unit 306 searches for a segment corresponding to the search word and transmits the segment to the client device 102.

At this time, the retrieved segment may be a segment for different contents.

Although not shown in FIG. 4, the interface according to the present invention may provide functions such as a normal image editor, such as resolution change, rotation, and size change.

The user image generated by the user image generating unit 208 is stored in the user storage 210.

The user storage 210 according to the present invention can be previously allocated and provided for each user on a cloud basis.

Then, when the provision of the user image is requested, the user image providing unit 212 transmits the user image to the client device 102.

Preferably, the user image providing unit 212 may be a streaming server connected to the user storage 210.

Since the user image is stored in the cloud storage medium such as the user storage 210, when the user uses a plurality of client devices 102, the N screen service may be provided between the plurality of client devices with respect to the user image. In order to provide such N screen service, the video management server 100 may separately store / manage the playback history of the user video. The playback history is a log related to the playback of the user image. The playback history may store information about the playback point of the user image. Even if the user changes the client device 102 to request playback of the user image, It is possible to connect the client device from the point in time when the playback has been completed to reproduce the user video.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the user image may be provided not only by the user who created the image but also by the user image providing unit 212 when there is a request from another user.

Also, the user image can be stored through the content storage unit 200 so that another user can use it to create his / her own user image.

At this time, the user image may be stored as a segment unit and used as a source for producing another user image.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the video management server 100 may be defined as a contents store including an accounting processing unit 214. [

The billing processing unit 214 according to the present invention can bill in units of segments used for a user image.

In other words, the billing processing unit 214 charges the segment used by the user to generate his or her own user image.

More specifically, the billing amount for each segment may be set differently according to the present invention, and the billing processing unit 214 may determine the total billing amount by using the number of each segment included in the user image and the billing amount have.

A part of the above charge is paid to the broadcasting company or the individual who provided the contents.

In the above description, it has been described with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 that a user image is generated using contents previously produced by a broadcasting company or an individual.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the video management server 100 enables a user to generate a user image by using recorded contents of a live program requested by a user.

5 is a detailed block diagram of a video management server according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5, the video management server 100 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a segment generation unit 500, a segment storage unit 502, a recording request processing unit 504, an Ingestor 506 A user storage 508, a user image generating unit 510, and a user image providing unit 512.

The segment generating unit 500 divides the video data of the live program transmitted to the client device 102 to generate a segment, and the segment storing unit 502 temporarily stores the generated segment.

Since the generation process of the segment has been described in detail above, it is omitted here.

The recording request processing unit 504 receives a recording request from the client device 102. [

The client device 102 that transmits the recording request may be a TV or a set-top box.

The recording request according to the present invention can be performed by a program unit or a time unit. For example, when the user selects a predetermined live program on the EPG to request recording, the recording request received by the recording request processing unit 504 may include user identification information and program identification information (program name, channel, date) have.

In addition, in the case of requesting recording of a live program that has already been started from the beginning, the recording request may include user identification information and program identification information.

In addition, when the user requests the recording by specifying the time and the channel, the recording request received by the recording request processing unit 504 may further include the recording start time and the recording end time information in addition to the user identification information and the program identification information have.

In addition, when the user requests to start recording while watching a live program, the recording request processing unit 504 first receives a recording request including user identification information, program identification information, and recording start time information, If there is a request, it receives user identification information, program identification information, and recording end time information.

When the user requests the recording in the program unit, the recording request processing unit 504 can receive the recording request including the date and the program name, and it changes to the date and time information with reference to the program schedule table, (506).

(1) January 23, 2012 A program recording request (recording request processing part receiving message)

(2) Jan. 23, 2012 Recording request (Ingestor delivery message) from 01:00:00 to 02:00:00 of channel X

The ingestor 506 extracts and synthesizes a segment of a live program requested to be recorded in the segment storage unit 502 to generate recorded content.

Here, the ingaster 506 generates a source for generating a user image, and may be defined as being included in the content storage unit 200 described above.

The recorded content synthesized by the inventor 506 is stored in the user storage 508.

The user storage 508 according to the present invention can be previously allocated and provided for each user on a cloud basis.

As described above, the recording request includes the user identification information, and the inzer 506 refers to the user identification information, and is stored in the storage area corresponding to the user who requested the recording.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the recording of a live program is a user's own creation of a source for generating a user image. Preferably, the user can selectively record only a predetermined section of the live program. Recorded contents are stored in advance, and the user can combine them to generate a user image.

The user image generation unit 510 transmits an interface for generating a user image using the recorded content to the client device 102, and receives a user edit request on the interface to generate a user image.

In the user image generation using the recording content, the interface may have the configuration shown in FIG. 4. Alternatively, the interface may include the image clip display area 600, the editing area 602, and the reproduction area 604 ).

When the user selects the playback area 604, when an image of the section requested by the user is reproduced in the image clip display area 600 and the editing area 602 is selected, Can be used to generate images.

At this time, an image composed of a plurality of segments can be reproduced in the image clip display area 600.

Preferably, a portion of the video clip, not the entire video clip, may be extracted and a user image may be generated by combining them. Here, extraction of image clips is also performed on a segment basis.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating a user image according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the video management server 100 according to the present invention stores content as a source for generating a user image (step 700).

As described above, the content stored in step 700 may be content produced by a broadcasting company or an individual.

Thereafter, the video management server 100 divides the content into a plurality of segments (step 702).

In step 702, the video management server 100 may sequentially generate segments.

As in the above example, the initial frame is configured as I1-P1-P2-P3-B1-I2-P4-P5-P6-B2-B3-I3-I4-P7-8P, Frame, the video management server 100 generates the first segment using the I1-P1-P2 frames, which are the front-end frames.

Since the frame appearing after the first segment is not the I-frame but the P3 frame, the video management server 100 generates the I101 frame corresponding to the first frame of the second segment using the P2 frame, and outputs the I101-P3-B1 frame And generates a second segment including the second segment.

That is, if the next frame of the last frame included in the first segment is not an I-frame, the video management server 100 generates the first I-frame of the second segment based on the last frame of the first segment.

In the same way, the next segment can be sequentially generated.

On the other hand, the video management server 100 determines whether the I-frames are consecutive in the segment generation process, and if the I-frames are consecutive, recognizes that the scenes are switched.

In the above description, segments are sequentially generated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an I-frame to be displayed first in each segment may be generated first by identifying an array of all frames.

The video management server 100 temporarily stores the generated segment (step 704).

If the client device 102 requests creation of a user image (step 706), the image management server 100 transmits an interface for creating a user image to the client device 102 (step 708).

A segment of the content requested by the user through the interface or a segment of the recorded content generated by the recording request is output (step 710).

The client device 102 transmits segment selection information on the interface to the video management server 100 (step 712), and the video management server 100 generates a user video using the selected segment (step 714 ).

The generated user image is stored in the user storage of the image management server 100 in step 716. If there is a request from the client device 102 in step 718, To the device 102 (step 720).

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed on various computer means and recorded on a computer readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the present invention or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magnetic media such as floppy disks; Examples of program instructions, such as magneto-optical and ROM, RAM, flash memory and the like, can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like, as well as machine code, Includes a high-level language code. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as at least one software module to perform operations of one embodiment of the present invention, and vice versa.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, such as specific elements, and specific embodiments and drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above- And various modifications and changes may be made thereto by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, belong to the scope of the present invention .

Claims (14)

A video management server apparatus connected to a client device via a network,
A segment generation unit that divides content provided from a broadcasting company or an individual into a plurality of segments;
A segment storage unit for storing the generated plurality of segments; And
And a user image generation unit for extracting a segment selected by the client device from the segment storage unit and synthesizing the selected segment to generate a user image. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein each of the plurality of segments comprises n frames (n is a natural number of 1 or more), and the first frame of each of the plurality of segments includes an intra-coded (I) frame. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the segment generating unit comprises:
If the next frame of the last frame included in the first segment is not an I-frame, generating, based on the last frame, a first I-frame of the second segment To the video management server apparatus. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the segment generating unit comprises:
Frame or a B (Bidirectionally interpolated) -b frame, the first segment of the first segment may be used as the first segment of the second segment by using the P-frame or the B- Frame to generate a second I-frame. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the segment generating unit comprises:
If the first I-frame and the second I-frame are consecutively displayed in the frame constituting the content, if the first I-frame and the second I-frame are in the interval where the scene change occurs, The video management server apparatus comprising: The method according to claim 1,
And a user storage for storing the user image. The method according to claim 1,
A content storage unit for storing the content and meta data of the content; And
And a segment management unit for managing metadata for each of the generated segments,
When the content or segment search request of the client device is received, the user image generation unit searches the content metadata managed by the content storage unit or the segment metadata managed by the segment management unit, A video management server device. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the user image generating unit transmits an interface for content search and segment editing to the client device. The method according to claim 1,
The content is a live program provided by a broadcasting company,
Further comprising an ingaster for extracting and composing segments of the live program requested to be recorded when a user's recording request for the live program is received to generate recorded contents. 10. The method of claim 9,
The segment storage unit stores,
Wherein each segment of the live program is stored in a storage path according to at least one of broadcast channel identification information, date information, and time information. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a charge processing unit for performing charging using a size of a segment used for the user image and a unit charge amount of each segment included in the user image. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the content provided by the broadcasting company includes at least one of a live program, an on-demand program, a non-broadcast program, and a program having different scenarios. A method of generating a user image in a video management server connected to a client device via a network,
Dividing contents provided from a broadcasting company or an individual into a plurality of segments;
Storing the generated plurality of segments; And
Extracting a segment selected from the client device from the segment storage unit, and synthesizing the selected segment to generate a user image. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for performing the method according to claim 13.

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