KR20150046566A - Method and apparatus for servicing video based on network quality - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for servicing video based on network quality of the present invention is a method for providing video service based on network quality of a video servicing apparatus, which comprises the following steps: obtaining network communication connection when receiving demand of service of specific video from a user terminal; analyzing the obtained network communication connection information; determining any one of multiple candidate videos having bit rates of different quality per content based on the analysis result as a video going to be serviced; demanding a service of the determined video going to be serviced to a service node providing a transmission service of the specific video; and transmitting the video going to be serviced, which is provided from the service node to the user terminal.

Description

[0001] METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SERVICING VIDEO BASED ON NETWORK QUALITY [0002]

The present invention relates to a video quality service based on network quality, and more particularly, to a video quality service based on network quality based on the network communication access information and the video service quality history information of the terminal, And more particularly, to a method and apparatus for moving image service based on network quality suitable for selectively providing one service.

As well known, according to the development of the wireless Internet communication environment and the service and the technical development of the wireless terminal (portable terminal), the users can use the user terminal (e.g., mobile phone, smart phone, smart pad, ) Can be used to provide wireless Internet services such as moving pictures anytime and anywhere.

That is, users can access a specific web site (video server) using a user terminal (a wireless terminal equipped with an Internet browser) in a single wireless network environment such as 2G network, 3G network, 4G network, It is possible to receive a desired video service or the like in real time.

Recently, a video optimization technique has been attracting attention due to a surge of video traffic in a wireless network (mobile network). One of these technologies is an adaptive video transmission technique in which a bit rate of a video is changed in real time, Examples of such adaptive video transmission techniques include Apple's HTTP live streaming, Microsoft's Smooth streaming, Adobe's HTTP adaptive streaming, .

In the conventional adaptive moving picture transmission technology, a service is provided while varying the quality of a moving picture in units of chunks according to the performance of the terminal and the network communication environment. In order to support such adaptive moving picture transmission technologies, player) must support the function.

That is, a typical adaptive video transmission technology has a fundamental problem that a video client can only provide services to a terminal supporting the corresponding function but can not provide a corresponding service to a plurality of terminals that do not support such a function.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2009-0041063, published on April 28, 2009.

Unlike the conventional method in which a video client provides a video service through a quality change of a chunk unit to a terminal supporting an adaptive video transmission function, A plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates are generated for each content unit, and a video optimizing server (relay node) for relaying the video service transmits a plurality of candidate videos We propose a new video service method that can select one of the candidates' videos as service target videos.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and another problem to be solved by the present invention can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description will be.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a moving image service based on a network quality service, the method comprising: acquiring network communication access information when a service request for a specific moving image is received from a user terminal; The method comprising the steps of: analyzing the network communication access information of the specific network; analyzing the network communication access information; determining, as a service target video, any one of a plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates at different quality levels, The method comprising: requesting a service of the service target video determined by a service node providing a transmission service for the specific video; and transmitting the service target video provided from the service node to the user terminal The method comprising:

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information analyzing apparatus for analyzing network communication access information obtained when a service request for a specific moving image is received from a user terminal, And a service target deciding unit for deciding, as a service target video, any one of a plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates at different quality levels in response to the specific video based on the analysis result, And a video processing unit for receiving the service target video from the service node and transmitting the service target video to the user terminal, the video service apparatus comprising: to provide.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a moving picture service based on a network quality service, the method comprising: receiving, when a service request for a specific moving picture is received from a user terminal, Acquiring the video service quality history information for the specific video, analyzing the acquired network communication access information, analyzing the network communication access information, and providing the video service quality history information on the specific video And requesting a video service by transmitting the service quality information to the service node; and selecting one of a plurality of candidate videos of different quality bit rates in content units corresponding to the specific video based on the analysis result and the video service quality history information Receiving a service target video from the service node And transmitting the service target video received from the service node to the user terminal.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus comprising: a network load status obtaining unit for obtaining network communication access information when a service request for a specific moving picture is received from a user terminal; A service quality management unit for monitoring the communication status of the user terminal and accumulating the communication status of the user terminal as moving picture service quality history information; and an analyzing unit for analyzing the network communication access information and the moving picture service quality history information, A service requesting unit for transmitting the service quality information to the service node and requesting a video service, and a service requesting unit for requesting a video service from the service node, based on the analysis result and the video service quality history information, One service target video from the service node And transmitting the received video quality information to the user terminal.

In the present invention, a plurality of candidate moving pictures having different bit rates of different quality are generated for each moving picture on the service node side, and based on the network communication access information and the moving picture service quality history information of the corresponding terminal, Alternatively, the service node selects one of a plurality of candidate videos as a service target video and provides a service, thereby providing a video service suitable for a communication environment to all terminals irrespective of whether the adaptive video transmission function is supported or not.

1 is a block diagram of a video service providing system suitable for applying a video service model according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a network quality-based video service apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a main process of providing a video service to a user terminal based on network quality according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a network quality based video service apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a main process of providing a video service to a user terminal based on network quality according to another embodiment of the present invention.

First, the advantages and features of the present invention, and how to accomplish them, will be clarified with reference to the embodiments to be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

In the following description of the present invention, detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. It is to be understood that the following terms are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and may be changed according to intentions or customs of a user, an operator, and the like. Therefore, the definition should be based on the technical idea described throughout this specification.

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a moving picture service providing system suitable for applying a moving picture service model according to the present invention. The moving picture service providing system includes a user terminal group 110 including a plurality of user terminals 110/1110 / n, 160, a moving picture optimization server 130, a network load management node 150, a moving picture server 170, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 1, each user terminal 110/1110 / n in the user terminal group 110 includes a wireless portable terminal (hereinafter, referred to as " The user terminals 110/1 to 110 / n are connected to a connection path via the network 120 in accordance with a user operation, The mobile server 130 may be provided with a video service based on the network quality provided by the video server 130 according to the present invention.

Here, the network 120 may be, for example, a second generation (2G) wireless network (e.g., a CDMA mobile communication system), a third generation (3G) wireless network (e.g., a WCDMA mobile communication system) (E.g., LTE mobile communication system), and a next generation wireless network of the future, or a wired communication network including a wireless communication network including a combination of at least two wireless networks and a wired Internet. That is, the network 120 may provide a wireless communication path between each user terminal and may provide a wired / wireless communication path with the video server 130.

The video optimizing server 130 may be, for example, a relay node for relaying a moving picture service performed between the user terminal and the moving picture server 170, (A candidate video selected from among a plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates of different quality in a content unit) transmitted from the video server 170 according to the present invention and transmits the service video to a requesting user terminal And specific processes by which the moving picture service apparatus of the present invention provides the moving picture service based on the network quality to the user terminals will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG.

The network load management node 150 is a network management server that monitors and manages a load state (network communication connection state) of a network (a wireless network or a mobile communication network) in real time or provides functions such as network operation policy management and change, Etc. When there is a request for information on the network communication environment from the video optimizing server 130 through the network 140, the network communication access information is detected through monitoring and stored in the network communication access information, 130), and so on.

The video server 170 may be a server operating on a site such as YouTube, Naver, Daum, Nate, Google, and the like. The video server 170 may be a video server, A plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates of different quality are stored in a data storage unit (not shown). For example, assuming that there are 60 seconds of video content, the video content includes a first candidate video having a bit rate of 500 Kbps, a second candidate video having a bit rate of 1 Mbps, a third candidate video having a bit rate of 1.5 Mbps, A fourth candidate moving image having a bit rate of < RTI ID = 0.0 > 1, < / RTI > Each candidate video may be a video compression-encoded according to an image compression algorithm (e.g., H.261, MPEG-2, etc.) widely known in the art.

In addition, when the service request for the service target video is received from the video optimizing server 130 through the network 160, the video server 170 fetches the corresponding candidate video stored in the data storage unit, To the video optimizing server 130 through the video optimization server 130. In addition, when the service request including the user information, the analysis result of the network communication access information, and the video service quality history information is received, Selects one of a plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates of different quality as a content unit corresponding to the video based on the video service quality history information as a service target video and transmits the selected video as a service target video through the network 160 to the video optimizing server 130 And the like can be provided.

[Example 1]

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a network quality-based video service apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The network load state acquisition unit 202, the information analysis unit 204, the service quality management unit 206, A determination unit 208, a request management unit 210, a moving picture processing unit 212, and the like.

2, the network load status obtaining unit 202 obtains a request for network communication environment information when a video service request (HTTP Req.) Is received from a user terminal (for example, 110/1) through the network 120 And transmits the request message to the information analysis unit 204 when the network communication access information is received from the network load management node 150 in response to the request message to the network load management node 150 via the network 140 And the like can be provided. Here, the network communication connection information may include, for example, average transmission rate information, maximum transmission rate information, and minimum transmission rate information. At this time, the video service request message transmitted from the user terminal 110/1 to the video optimizing server 130 includes user information (e.g., terminal type, user ID, user IP, etc.) and service request quality information.

The information analyzing unit 204 analyzes the network communication access information including the network communication access information, i.e., the average transmission rate information, the maximum transmission rate information, and the lowest transmission rate information transmitted from the network load status obtaining unit 202 And delivering the analysis result to the service subject determination unit 208. [0156] FIG.

In addition, the service quality management unit 206 monitors the communication status of the corresponding terminal every time a video service for each user terminal is provided, accumulates it as video service quality history information, and stores it in an internal data storage (not shown) And when inquiry about the moving image service quality history is requested from the service target deciding unit 208 according to the request of the moving image service by the user terminal 110/1, And delivering the video service quality history information for the user terminal to the service target determination unit 208. [ Here, the video service quality history information may include, for example, the average buffering number information of the user terminal and the average video quality information.

Next, in accordance with the request for the analysis result and the information inquiry provided from the information analysis unit 204, in accordance with the moving image service request from the user terminal (for example, 110/1) (Video received the service request) stored on the side of the moving picture server 170 at the remote place on the basis of the moving picture service quality history information of the user terminal 110/1 provided from the user terminal 110 / (Select) any of the videos as a service target video, and notify the request management unit 210 of the determination result.

For example, when the communication status of the user terminal 110/1 is below the predetermined communication condition range with respect to the service request quality, the service target decision unit 208 inquires accumulated video service quality history information, A candidate video having a low quality bit rate can be determined as a service target video. For example, when it is determined that the communication environment of the terminal is poor (below a predetermined communication condition range) when the service request quality by the user terminal 110/1 is 1.5Mbps, the service target deciding unit 208 sets the bit rate Can be determined as a service target video.

Unlike the above case, when the communication status of the user terminal 110/1 is higher than the predetermined communication condition range with respect to the service request quality by inquiring accumulated video service quality history information, It is possible to determine a candidate video having a relatively higher bit rate as a service target video. For example, if it is determined that the communication environment of the terminal is satisfactory (the predetermined communication condition range or more) when the service request quality by the user terminal 110/1 is 1.5Mbps, the service target deciding unit 208 sets the bit rate Can be determined as a service target video.

When the determination result of the service target video is notified from the service target deciding unit 208, the request management unit 210 notifies the video server (service node) providing the transmission service for the video, Request (HTTP Req.), And so on.

Finally, the video processing unit 212 transmits a service target video (a video having a bit rate matching the communication quality level) received from the service node (video server) to the network 120 according to the service request in the request management unit 210 And transmitting the data signal to the user terminal 110/1.

Next, a series of processes for providing a moving picture service to a user terminal using the moving picture service apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described in detail.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a main process of providing a video service to a user terminal based on network quality according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a user terminal (e.g., 110/1) accesses the video optimizing server 130 through the network 120 to request a transmission service for an arbitrary video (a video service (Step 302), the network load status obtaining unit 202 generates a request message for requesting the network communication environment information and transmits the request message to the network load management node 150 through the network 140. Here, the video service request message includes user information (e.g., terminal model, user ID, user IP, etc.), service request quality information, and the like.

In response, the network load management node 150 monitors and manages the load status (network communication connection status) of the network (wireless network or mobile communication network) and collects network communication access information, such as average transmission rate information The maximum transmission rate information, and the lowest transmission rate information to the network load state acquisition unit 202 (step 304).

The information analysis unit 204 analyzes the network communication access information including the network communication connection information, i.e., the average transmission rate information, the maximum transmission rate information, and the lowest transmission rate information, And transmits the analysis result to the service subject determination unit 208 (step 306).

Next, the service target determining unit 208 obtains the moving image service quality history information of the user terminal 110/1 from the service quality managing unit 206 through information inquiry (step 308).

The service target decision unit 208 determines the service quality of the user terminal based on the analysis result of the network communication access information provided from the information analysis unit 204 and the video service quality history information of the user terminal provided from the service quality management unit 206 (Select) any one of a plurality of candidate videos corresponding to the corresponding video (video received the service request) stored in the video server (service node) 170 (step 310).

Here, the service target decision unit 208 determines whether the video service quality history information about the user terminal 110/1 is relatively lower than the service request quality when the communication state of the terminal is below a predetermined quality condition range for the service request quality When the candidate video having a low quality bit rate is determined as a service target video or when the video service quality history information about the user terminal 110/1 is the communication condition of the terminal exceeds the predetermined communication condition range for the service request quality, It is possible to determine a candidate video having a bit rate higher than the requested quality as a service target video.

In response to this, in response to the determination result notification from the service target determining unit 208, the request managing unit 210 requests the video server (service node) providing the transfer service for the video, Req.) (Step 312).

Next, when a service request for a service target video is received from the video optimizing server 130 via the network 160, the service node (i.e., the video server 170) at the remote location stores the service request in a data storage unit (Video received the service request) and transmits it to the video optimizing server 130 through the network 160. The video optimizing server 130 receives the candidate video (video received the service request)

As a result, the moving picture processing unit 212 in the moving picture optimization server 130 receives the service moving picture received from the service node (moving picture server 170), that is, the moving picture having a bit rate matching the communication quality level, And transmits it to the corresponding user terminal 110/1 (service response for a video service request) (step 314).

Then, the service quality management unit 206 monitors the communication status of the user terminal 110/1 when the service response to the video service request is completed, accumulates the communication status information as moving picture service quality history information, (Step 316).

[Example 2]

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a network quality-based video service apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The network load status acquisition unit 402, the information analysis unit 404, the service quality management unit 406, A moving image processing unit 410, and the like.

The network load state obtaining unit 402, the information analyzing unit 404, the service quality managing unit 406 and the moving picture processing unit 410 of the present embodiment respectively correspond to the respective constituent members shown in FIG. 2, The information analyzing unit 204, the service quality managing unit 206, and the moving picture processing unit 212, which are substantially the same as the functions performed by the acquiring unit 202, the information analyzing unit 204, the service quality managing unit 206, Therefore, in order to avoid unnecessary redundant description for the sake of simplification of the specification, description of each function of these constituent members will be omitted below.

4, the service request unit 408 receives an analysis result of network communication access information provided from the information analysis unit 404 according to a service request (HTTP Req.) From a user terminal (e.g., 110/1) Generates a service request including video service quality history information for the user terminal 110/1 provided from the service quality management unit 406 and transmits the service request together with the user information to the video server 170 through the network 160 Requesting a video service, and the like.

In response to this, on the side of the moving picture server 170, one of a plurality of candidate videos having bitrates of different quality in content units corresponding to the moving picture based on the analysis result of the network communication access information and the moving picture service quality history information, (Determined) as a target video and transmits the selected video to the video optimizing server 130 through the network 160. [

That is, the moving picture service apparatus of the present embodiment directly determines any one of a plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates of different quality in the content unit on the basis of the analysis result of the network communication access information and the moving picture service quality history information Unlike the above-described moving picture service apparatus according to the first embodiment, in that only the information necessary for determining the moving picture to be served, i.e., the analysis result of the network communication access information and the moving picture service quality history information are transmitted to the moving picture server And has a difference from the video service apparatus of the first embodiment described above.

In other words, the moving picture service apparatus of the present embodiment transfers only the information (the analysis result of the network communication access information and the moving picture service quality history information) necessary for determining the moving picture to be served to the moving picture server (service node) Has a difference in that it is performed on the side of the moving picture server (service node).

Next, a series of processes for providing a moving picture service to a user terminal using the moving picture service apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described in detail.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a main process of providing a video service to a user terminal based on network quality according to another embodiment of the present invention.

First, the respective processing steps in steps 502 to 508 are substantially the same as the respective processing steps in the corresponding steps 302 to 308 shown in Fig. Therefore, in order to avoid unnecessary redundant description for the sake of simplification of the specification, description of each process in these steps 502 to 508 is omitted.

5, in the service request unit 408, the analysis result of the network communication access information provided from the information analysis unit 404 according to the service request (HTTP Req.) From the user terminal (for example, 110/1) The service quality management unit 406 generates a service request including the moving picture service quality history information for the corresponding user terminal 110/1 and transmits the generated service request to the user of the corresponding user terminal 110/1 (HTTP Req.) To the moving picture server 170 through the network 160 (Step 510).

Next, in the video server 170, based on the analysis result of the network communication access information and the video service quality history information, any one of a plurality of candidate videos having bitrates of different quality in the content unit corresponding to the video is transmitted to the service object (Selected), extracts the determined service target video from the data storage unit, and transmits it to the video optimizing server 130 through the network 160 (step 512).

As a result, in the moving picture processing unit 410 in the moving picture optimization server 130, the service moving picture received from the service node (the moving picture server 170), that is, the moving picture having the bit rate matching the communication quality level, Modulated into a signal and transmitted to the corresponding user terminal 110/1 (service response for a video service request) (step 514).

Then, the service quality management unit 406 monitors the communication status of the corresponding user terminal 110/1 when the service response to the video service request is completed, accumulates it as the video service quality history information, and stores the accumulated information in the internal data storage unit (Step 516).

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. It is easy to see that this is possible. That is, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention but to limit the scope of the present invention.

Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be construed in accordance with the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates in content units for each video are generated and stored in the video server side, and the network communication access information of the terminal and the video service quality history information , It is possible to provide a video service model in which one of a plurality of candidate videos is selected as a service target video (determined by a relay node or determined by a service node).

The present invention including such a technical configuration can realize a high quality video service suitable for a communication environment to all terminals irrespective of whether or not the adaptive video transmission function is supported.

202, 402: network load state acquisition unit 204, 404: information analysis unit
206, 406: service quality management unit 208:
210: a request management unit 212, 410:
408: Service request unit

Claims (11)

CLAIMS 1. A method for providing a video service based on network quality,
Comprising the steps of: acquiring network communication access information when a service request for a specific moving picture is received from a user terminal;
Analyzing the acquired network communication access information;
Determining, as a service target video, any one of a plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates at different quality levels in response to the specific video based on the analysis result;
Requesting a service of the service target video determined by the service node providing the transmission service for the specific video;
Transmitting the service target moving image provided from the service node to the user terminal
The quality of the video service being based on the quality of the network. The method according to claim 1,
The network communication access information includes:
Average transmission rate information, maximum transmission rate information, and lowest transmission rate information
A method of video service based on network quality. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the determining comprises:
A candidate video having a quality bit rate lower than that of the service request quality is transmitted to the service terminal through the video service quality history information of the user terminal, Target video
A method of video service based on network quality. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the determining comprises:
A candidate video having a quality bit rate higher than a quality of service request is transmitted to the service terminal through the service of the service request quality of the user terminal when the communication status of the user terminal is higher than a predetermined communication condition range with respect to the service request quality, Target video
A method of video service based on network quality. The method according to claim 3 or 4,
The video service quality history information may include:
Wherein the average buffering number information and average video quality information of the user terminal
A method of video service based on network quality. The method according to claim 1,
The method comprises:
After the transmission, the communication status of the user terminal is monitored and accumulated as video service quality history information
Based on the video quality information. A network load status obtaining unit for obtaining network communication connection information,
An information analyzing unit for analyzing the obtained network communication access information when a service request for a specific moving picture is received from a user terminal,
A service object determination unit that determines any one of a plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates of different quality as a service target video in response to the specific video based on the analysis result;
A request management unit for requesting a service of the service target video determined by the service node providing the transmission service for the specific video;
A video processing unit for receiving the service target video from the service node and transmitting the service target video to the user terminal;
And a network quality-based video service apparatus. 8. The method of claim 7,
The apparatus comprises:
When the video service for the user terminal is provided, monitors the communication status of the terminal and accumulates it as video service quality history information,
Further comprising:
The service-
And a candidate video having a bit rate of a quality lower than a service request quality when the communication state of the user terminal is less than a predetermined communication condition range with respect to the service request quality, by querying the accumulated video service quality history information, Determined by
Video quality based video service device. 8. The method of claim 7,
The apparatus comprises:
When the video service for the user terminal is provided, monitors the communication status of the terminal and accumulates it as video service quality history information,
Further comprising:
The service-
A candidate video having a quality bit rate higher than a quality of a service request is transmitted to the service target video when the communication status of the user terminal is higher than a predetermined communication condition range with respect to the service request quality, Determined by
Video quality based video service device. CLAIMS 1. A method for providing a video service based on network quality,
Comprising the steps of: obtaining network communication access information and video service quality history information for the user terminal when a service request for a specific video is received from the user terminal;
Analyzing the acquired network communication access information;
Transmitting a result of analyzing the network communication access information and video service quality history information to a service node providing a transmission service for the specific video,
Receiving, from the service node, any one of a plurality of candidate videos selected from among a plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates at different quality levels corresponding to the specific video based on the analysis result and the video service quality history information;
And transmitting the service target moving picture received from the service node to the user terminal
The quality of the video service being based on the quality of the network. A network load state obtaining unit for obtaining network communication access information when a service request for a specific moving picture is received from a user terminal,
An information analysis unit for analyzing the acquired network communication access information;
A service quality manager for monitoring the communication status of the user terminal and accumulating the communication status as moving picture service quality history information;
A service request unit for transmitting a result of analysis of the network communication access information and moving picture service quality history information to a service node providing a transmission service for the specific moving picture,
Receiving, from the service node, any one of a plurality of candidate videos selected from among a plurality of candidate videos having different bit rates in content units corresponding to the specific video based on the analysis result and the video service quality history information, The moving image processing unit
And a network quality-based video service apparatus.

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