KR20160044258A - Method and apparatus for providing content mapping with virtual channel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a content-providing server and a content-providing method using a virtual channel. The method according to the present invention may include: a step of allocating a virtual channel according to a request from a first user terminal; a step of receiving a viewing request with respect to the virtual channel from a second user terminal; and a step of transmitting content to the second user terminal so that the content provided by the first user terminal is reproduced via the virtual channel in the second user terminal. According to the present invention, originally-produced content can be provided for a broadcasting service user in a similar manner to general channel viewing, and the content can be easily provided for a person other than the user through virtual channel number sharing. Accordingly, access convenience regarding the content reproduction can be enhanced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a content providing server and a content providing method using a virtual channel,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a content providing server and method, and more particularly to an invention for providing content via a virtual channel.

In recent years, IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) has been commercially available in the domestic market. However, in the case of the airwaves, the frequency resources are limited, whereas the number of channels is quite large due to the characteristics of IPTV. In the case of IPTV services currently being serviced, several hundreds of channels have been secured.

However, even in IPTV, which provides much more channels than airwaves, viewers are forced to receive content that is set according to the schedules formed by the operators having broadcast programming rights. On the other hand, due to the development of Social Network Service (SNS), contents created by individuals themselves are not limited to contents provided by CPs (Content Providers), but they are explosively increasing. There is an urgent need for a technical implementation that enables personalized content to be provided in a convenient manner such as a TV channel.

In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides a content providing server and method using a virtual channel allocated to each individual.

Here, the content provided by the first user terminal may be stored in an external storage device such as a database or a cloud, which is mapped to the virtual channel by the first user terminal. In addition, the present invention can provide various contents including contents created by the second user terminal through the virtual channel set by the first user terminal.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a content providing method using a virtual channel is presented. The method includes: allocating a virtual channel at a request of a first user terminal; Receiving a view request for the virtual channel from a second user terminal; And transmitting the content to the second user terminal such that the content provided from the first user terminal is reproduced through the virtual channel at the second user terminal.

Herein, the step of receiving the viewing request for the virtual channel may include determining whether the second user terminal has the right to access the virtual channel. The step of transmitting the content to the second user terminal may comprise transmitting the content to the second user terminal if the second user terminal has rights to access the virtual channel .

The step of determining whether or not the user has the right to access the virtual channel may include checking the password input from the second user terminal to access the virtual channel. The step of determining whether or not the virtual channel has the authority to access the virtual channel includes: notifying the first user terminal of a viewing request for the virtual channel of the second user terminal; And receiving a virtual channel access grant of the second user terminal from the first user terminal.

The method may further include receiving a virtual channel inquiry request from the second user terminal, the virtual channel inquiry being permitted to access the second user terminal; And providing virtual channel information to which the second user terminal is allowed to access. The providing of the virtual channel information may include providing a list of virtual channels that the second user terminal is allowed to access.

The method may further comprise: receiving a virtual channel change request from the first user terminal; And changing the virtual channel provided by the first user terminal to another virtual channel in response to the virtual channel change request. The step of allocating the virtual channel may include automatically allocating one of the available channels to the virtual channel when a specific virtual channel is not designated by the first user terminal.

The method may further comprise: generating a content list for content provided from the first user terminal via the virtual channel; And providing the content list to the second user terminal so that the second user terminal can select specific content to be played back.

The method may further comprise: receiving a playback stop request of the content from the second user terminal; Storing the time information at which the reproduction of the content is stopped; Receiving a replay request for the content that has stopped playing from the second user terminal; And transmitting the content to the second user terminal from a point of time when the playback is stopped.

In addition, the content provided by the first user terminal may be stored in a memory or database of the content providing server, or may be obtained from the cloud server or from a URL (uniform resource locator) address via a wired / wireless communication network.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a content providing server using a virtual channel is provided. Wherein the server allocates a virtual channel at a request of the first user terminal, receives a viewing request for the virtual channel from the second user terminal, and transmits the viewing request to the first user through the virtual channel at the second user terminal, A processor configured to transmit the content to the second user terminal so that content provided from the terminal is played back; And a memory coupled to the processor.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a content providing service system using a virtual channel is provided. Wherein the system allocates a virtual channel according to a request of the first user terminal and transmits the content to the second user terminal so that the content provided by the first user terminal through the virtual channel is reproduced by the second user terminal A content providing server configured to transmit the content; A first user terminal configured to request a virtual channel assignment to the content providing server and to provide content to be provided through an assigned virtual channel number; And a second user terminal configured to request viewing of the virtual channel to the content providing server and receive the content provided through the virtual channel from the content providing server.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an application stored in a medium for executing a content providing method using a virtual channel. The application comprising: instructions for allocating a virtual channel at a request of a first user terminal; Instructions for receiving a view request for the virtual channel from a second user terminal; And instructions for transmitting the content to the second user terminal such that the content provided from the first user terminal on the virtual channel at the second user terminal is played back.

When a user using the first user terminal desires to provide the content to another user using the second user terminal, if the second user terminal selects the corresponding virtual channel as if it is a general TV channel, May transmit the content to the second user terminal. As a result, the second user terminal can easily view the content based on the intention of the first user terminal user, thereby improving the convenience of content reproduction.

Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the personalized content from being exposed to the third party by setting the content to be provided only to the user terminal to which the access right is granted through the access right setting for the other virtual channel.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a content providing service system using a virtual channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a content providing service using a virtual channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining a virtual channel number according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a content list providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a content providing method at the time of re-watching after stopping the content playback according to the embodiment of the present invention.
6 is an exemplary screen for selecting a virtual channel in a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is an exemplary screen in which content is played in a selected virtual channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components throughout the drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a 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.

Various aspects of the invention are described below. It is to be understood that the inventions set forth herein may be embodied in a wide variety of forms and that any particular structure, function, or all of the presented features are illustrative only. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that on the basis of the inventions set forth herein, one aspect disclosed herein may be implemented independently of any other aspects, and that two or more such aspects may be implemented in various ways ≪ / RTI > For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of aspects set forth herein. In addition, or in addition to one or more aspects described herein, or with the aid of structures, functions, or structures and functions other than these aspects, such devices may be implemented or such methods may be practiced.

Throughout the specification, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without excluding other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a content providing service system using a virtual channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, a content providing service system using a virtual channel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a first user terminal 200, a content providing server 100, and a second user terminal 300 .

The first user terminal 200 is an apparatus that can use an Internet broadcasting service. For example, the first user terminal 200 may be a TV equipped with an IP set top box, or an IP set top box connected to a user's TV, a computer, a notebook, or a personal portable terminal. Also, the first user terminal 200 may include one of a device having a set-top box and a video output device, an IPTV, a smart TV, and a mobile communication terminal.

The IP set top box includes a hardware layer composed of STB hardware such as a CPU, a media processor, a flash RAM, and an Ethernet module, a system software layer including system software such as a device driver and an operating system, a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) MPEG2, MPEG4, MPEG7, H.264, WMV-1, MPEG2, MPEG4, MPEG2, and MPEG-4 are equipped with a conditional access system (CAS) module and a digital rights management (DRM) interface module and a streaming protocol (RTP, RTSP) 9, etc., and an application program layer (EPG) for selecting an IPTV service channel.

The first user terminal 200 accesses the content providing server 100 using a virtual channel to register a user-created content or an already broadcasted content, etc., and records the title, description, genre, and characters Content information can be input.

Also, the first user terminal 200 may set a range of the user who can view the content through the virtual channel or a content range that can be viewed, and provide the range to the content providing server 100. For example, the user range may be a family member, a friend, a business associate, a person on a predetermined list, etc., and the first user terminal 200 may be connected to the content providing server 100 ). In addition, for example, in the case where the content provided by the first user terminal 200 through the virtual channel is constituted by contents that can be exposed by personal information and general information providing contents, Setting the content to be provided, and setting the range of the content to be served so that the company colleague is not provided with the content that can be exposed as personal information.

Here, the content may include at least one of content produced by the user and video on demand (VOD) provided by the service provider.

The content providing server 100 using the virtual channel number may include a processor 120, a memory 110, and a communication unit 130.

The processor 120 may be configured to perform operations for providing content using the virtual channel described herein. In particular, the processor 120 allocates a virtual channel at the request of the first user terminal 200, receives a viewing request for the virtual channel from the second user terminal 300, May be configured to transmit the content to the second user terminal 300 so that the content provided from the first user terminal 200 through the virtual channel is played back. In addition, the processor 120 may perform a virtual channel assignment operation, an authority check operation to access the virtual channel, a virtual channel information providing operation, a virtual A channel change operation, and the like. These operations may be represented as functional modules (e.g., virtual channel assignment module) according to an implementation.

Memory 110 may be coupled to processor 120 to store instructions for processor 120 to perform the operations described above. Also, according to an embodiment, contents provided by the first user terminal 200 are stored in the memory 110, and the contents providing server 100 provides the contents to the second user terminal 300 through a virtual channel . The content provided from the first user terminal 200 may be stored in the memory 110 or database of the content providing server 100 as described above or may be stored in a uniform resource locator ) ≪ / RTI > address.

The communication unit 130 may include a transmitting / receiving function capable of communicating with the first user terminal 200 and / or the second user terminal 300. Such communication is not limited to a communication method according to a specific communication protocol, and an appropriate communication method may be used according to an embodiment, and the communication unit 130 may be configured to provide such a communication method. For example, in the case of an Internet Protocol (IP) based system such as IPTV, the communication unit 130 may be configured to provide wired / wireless Internet communication, and the user terminal 200 or 300 may be a mobile communication terminal The communication unit 130 may be configured to provide wireless network communication such as a cellular network or a wireless LAN (WLAN) network, and if the user terminal 200 or 300 is implemented as a video output device such as a television, 130 may be configured to provide wired network communication, such as a telephone line cable.

The first user terminal 200 and the second user terminal 300 may be connected to the content providing server 100 using a virtual channel through a network.

The network may include a wired / wireless communication network, and the wired / wireless communication network may include wired / wireless Internet and wireless LAN (WLAN) compliant with CDMA, cellular, GSM, W-CDMA, Bluetooth, zigbee, Wireless LAN, WLAN), Wi-Fi, and WiBro.

The content providing server 100 using the virtual channel can receive various contents including the user's own content from the first user terminal 200 and store the contents in the memory 110 or the database or receive the contents from the external cloud server And can receive URL information that can be provided or obtain content.

In addition, the content providing server 100 using the virtual channel number may process the received content into a format suitable for playback on the second user terminal and store the format in the memory 110 or the database.

Also, the content providing server 100 using the virtual channel can receive the title, description, genre, meta information of content such as characters, viewing range of the content, etc. from the first user terminal 200.

Furthermore, the content providing server 100 using the virtual channel can generate the content list by receiving the request for creating the content list from the first user terminal 200. [ The content list may be generated including the type, order, playback start time, and the like of the content that the user of the first user terminal 200 desires to provide to the second user terminal 300. This list of contents may also be stored in the memory 110 or database or obtained from an external cloud server.

In addition, the content providing server 100 using the virtual channel can provide the content list to the second user terminal 300 so that the second user terminal 300 can select a specific content to be played through the virtual channel.

Here, the second user terminal 300 may include one of a device having a set-top box and a video output device, an IPTV, a smart TV, and a mobile communication terminal.

In FIG. 1, the functions of the contents providing service system using the virtual channel are mainly described. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to such an apparatus or system. Specifically, the functional implementation of the content providing service using the virtual channel of the present invention can be implemented as a computer program or an application executable on a computer or a portable terminal. Further, such a computer program or application may be stored on any kind of computer readable medium, and the functions of the present invention described above by any processor capable of executing computer-executable instructions stored on such computer- It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be practiced.

The processor 120 of the content providing server 100 may allocate a virtual channel number according to a request of the first user terminal 200. [ For this, the processor 120 may perform a channel information management operation, a user interface screen provision operation, a user input reception operation, a virtual channel number determination operation, and the like.

Specifically, the processor 120 may manage channel information including an assigned channel number and an unallocated channel number among available channels according to a request of a user or a request of a broadcaster.

In addition, the processor 120 may be configured to provide channel information including a unique channel number predetermined by an existing service so that the virtual channel can be allocated in the content providing server 100 using the virtual channel. The information on each channel includes information such as a channel number, a channel name, a channel genre (for example, a news channel, a movie channel, a music channel, Recognition, etc.).

The processor 120 may provide an interface screen for setting a virtual channel number desired by the user for each channel. For example, when a user requests to set a specific channel as a virtual channel, a predetermined unique channel number is presented, and if there is a virtual number already allocated, the virtual number can also be presented. In addition, the processor 120 may provide a function of allowing a user to input a virtual channel number on the interface screen, so that the processor 120 can operate to set and change a virtual channel number for a specific channel.

The processor 120 may receive the number input for setting the virtual channel number from the user's input through the first user terminal 200 or may receive the number input for the virtual channel number change. That is, the content providing server 100 may receive the number input by the user in order to set the virtual channel number on the above-described interface screen. For example, if the user desires to set the virtual channel number 99, the content providing server 100 may receive the virtual channel number 99 assigned to the user interface screen.

The processor 120 may determine the channel number input from the user as a virtual channel number. For example, if the user designates two contents to be provided through the virtual channel through the first user terminal 200 and inputs 99 as the number of the virtual channel, The number of virtual channels to be determined can be determined. Therefore, if the second user terminal 300 selects the channel 99 after the execution, the content providing server 100 transmits two contents provided by the first user terminal 200 to the second user terminal 200 through the channel 99, (300).

In addition, the processor 100 may automatically assign one of the available channels as a virtual channel to provide the content if a specific virtual channel is not designated by the first user terminal 200. [ For example, when the virtual channel number is not designated, the processor 100 may arbitrarily assign one of the available channel numbers as a virtual channel number to be used.

The processor 120 may manage the access right to the virtual channel that allows other user terminals to access the virtual channel. For this, the processor 120 may perform a virtual channel viewing request receiving operation, an access right determining operation, and the like.

The processor 120 may receive a viewing request for a virtual channel from the second user terminal 300 and may receive the viewing request for the virtual channel through the virtual channel if the second user terminal 300 has the authority to access the virtual channel. And may provide the content to the second user terminal 300. Here, the confirmation of the access right to the virtual channel can be implemented in various ways.

The first user terminal 200 may notify the second user terminal 300 of a password or access number so that the second user terminal 300 can access the virtual channel. In this case, the processor 120 can check the access right of the second user terminal 300 by checking the password or the access number input from the second user terminal 300 to access the virtual channel.

In addition, when the second user terminal 300 requests the viewing of the virtual channel, the processor 120 notifies the first user terminal 200 of the viewing request for the virtual channel of the second user terminal 300 And may allow the second user terminal 300 to access the virtual channel upon receiving the virtual channel access approval of the second user terminal 300 from the first user terminal 200. [

Also, the second user terminal 300 may be registered with the content providing server 100 as having access to the virtual channel, and the processor 120 may access the second user terminal 300 (e.g., mobile subscriber identity) The access right of the second user terminal 300 can be determined.

That is, the access to the virtual channel is allowed only to the user terminal having the authority to access the virtual channel number, thereby preventing illegal viewing of the content or information leakage to the unauthorized person.

The processor 120 may be operable to provide content to the second user terminal 300 over the virtual channel if the second user terminal 300 is authorized to access the virtual channel.

When the processor 120 receives a virtual channel inquiry request from the second user terminal 300 that is allowed to access the second user terminal 300, Lt; / RTI > In addition, the virtual channel information may be a list of virtual channels that the second user terminal is allowed to access. According to an embodiment, the list of virtual channels may include not only the channel number of the virtual channel but also the genre of the channel, And the like, and the like.

The processor 120 may provide the content provided from the first user terminal 200 to the second user terminal 300 via the virtual channel. To this end, the processor 120 may perform a content receiving operation, a content transmitting operation, a content list generating operation, a content list providing operation, a content reproduction time information generating operation, and the like.

The processor 120 may receive content from the first user terminal 200 and store it in the memory 110 or through a cloud server or through a URL that may receive the content, And may provide the content to the second user terminal 300.

In addition, when the processor 120 receives the request to discontinue playback of the content from the second user terminal 300, the processor 120 stores the time point at which the playback of the content is stopped, Upon receipt of the request to view the content again, the content may be provided to the second user terminal 300 from the point of time when the playback is stopped.

For example, when the second user terminal 300 stops playing the content, the processor 120 may generate the current playback time information by calculating the difference between the playback end time and the playback start time of the content . Thereafter, the processor 120 may provide the content to the second user terminal 300 based on the playback time information when the second user terminal 300 requests playback of the suspended content again.

If the URL information of the content to be transmitted to the second user terminal 300 is a real-time streaming URL, the first user terminal 700 may input the information of the real-time content to the content providing server 100, The second user terminal 300 may receive the corresponding URL information through the virtual channel and reproduce the content in the real-time streaming.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a content providing service using a virtual channel number according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, the first user terminal 200 may transmit a virtual channel allocation request to the content providing server 100 (S1010), and the content providing server 100 may transmit a virtual channel (S1020).

The second user terminal 300 may transmit a viewing request for the virtual channel to the content providing server 100 (S1030). In this case, the content providing server 100 may determine whether the second user terminal 300 has access right to the virtual channel (S1040). If it is determined that the second user terminal 300 does not have the access right, the content providing server 100 can transmit the connection disapproval notice (or the notification that the virtual channel is not accessible) to the second user terminal 300 (S1050). If it is determined in step S1040 that the second user terminal 300 has an access right, the content providing server 100 transmits the content provided from the first user terminal 200 through the virtual channel to the second user terminal 300, The content may be transmitted to the content server 300 (S1060).

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the step of determining the reproduction time point of the content reproduced in the second user terminal 300 may be determined under the control of the first user terminal 200. [

For example, when the user A of the first user terminal 200, which has generated the virtual channel number 99 through the present invention, wants to show the video produced by the user B of the second user terminal 300, A can tell B to go to channel 99. Then, when B accesses the virtual channel number access authorization and connects to the virtual channel number 99, A can check whether or not B is connected, and then the content playback can be started at the second user terminal 300 of B. In other words, B can view the content selected by the playback point A by the user at any time.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining a virtual channel number according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3, the method for determining a virtual channel number includes receiving channel information including a channel number previously allocated from the channel management server 150 and an unassigned channel number among the available channels (S2010 (S2020) of providing an interface screen capable of setting a virtual channel number, receiving a number input for setting a virtual channel number (S2030), and determining a virtual channel number (S2040) can do.

Furthermore, in order to help the user to select a virtual channel number, only an empty channel number may be displayed on the interface screen when the channel number is input, so that the channel number is not overlapped with the previously allocated channel number. Alternatively, in the present invention, when a number input by a user through a user interface screen overlaps with an existing assigned channel number, the user may request resetting through a notification that the virtual channel number can not be used.

In addition, when the number input by the user corresponds to the preallocated channel number, the channel information associated with the channel number may be changed to another channel number and the virtual channel number may be designated.

In addition, the method may further include providing an interface screen capable of changing a virtual channel number to change a virtual channel number that is set in advance, receiving a number input for changing a virtual channel number, and changing a virtual channel number Step < / RTI >

4 is a flowchart illustrating a content list providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The method includes generating (S3010) a content list for content provided from a first user terminal (200) via a virtual channel, generating a content list (C303) from a second user terminal (300) (S3020) requesting provision of the content list and providing the content list to the second user terminal 300 upon request (S3030). If the second user terminal 300 has a restriction on the permitted content viewing range (for example, in a case where the user is granted access so that the content to which the personal information is exposed can not be accessed) in step S3030, To the second user terminal 300, a list of contents that can be viewed by the user.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a content transmission method when a content is re-viewed based on content playback stop time information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

 As shown in FIG. 5, the method includes receiving a playback stop request for content from a second user terminal 300 reproducing content (S4010), receiving (S4020), a step of receiving a re-watching request of the content which has stopped reproducing from the second user terminal 300 (S4030), and a step of transmitting the content to the second user terminal 300 S4040).

With the above-described method, even if the viewing is interrupted while viewing the content through the virtual channel, it is possible to view the content again after the point of time when the content is viewed again.

On the other hand, the present invention can be implemented as computer-readable codes stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may include any type of storage device in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing a program for executing a method of providing a content using a virtual channel.

The program stored in the computer-readable storage medium may include some or all of the above-described contents providing method using the virtual channel.

 The computer readable code may also be configured to perform the steps of implementing a content providing method in accordance with the present invention when read and executed by a processor from a computer readable storage medium.

Computer readable code can be implemented in a variety of programming languages. And functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing embodiments of the present invention may be readily programmed by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Examples of computer-readable storage media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, etc., and may also include implementations in the form of carrier waves have.

In addition, the computer-readable storage medium may be distributed over a networked computer system so that computer readable code in a distributed manner may be stored and executed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a content providing service system using a virtual channel includes a first user terminal 200, a content providing server 100 and a second user terminal 300 as described above .

The content providing server 100 allocates a virtual channel according to a request of the first user terminal 200 and transmits the content provided by the first user terminal 200 through the virtual channel to the second user terminal 300, And to transmit the content to the second user terminal 300 for playback on the second user terminal 300. [ The first user terminal 200 may be configured to request a virtual channel allocation to the content providing server 100 and provide the content to be provided through the assigned virtual channel number. The second user terminal 300 can also be configured to request the viewing of the virtual channel to the content providing server 100 and to receive the content provided via the virtual channel from the content providing server 100 have.

6 is an exemplary screen for selecting a virtual channel in a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The second user terminal 200 can search for a corresponding virtual channel and request a viewing to access the virtual channel set by the first user terminal 200. [ As shown in FIG. 6, for example, when the virtual channel is set to 99, the second user terminal 200 can search channel # 99 by a keyboard, a touch panel, or any input means. According to an embodiment, a channel list including 99 may be displayed in a predetermined area 650 of the display device 600 of the second user terminal 200 when 99 is input, Can select channel 99 from channel 99 and channel 999 displayed for connection to the virtual channel.

7 is an exemplary screen in which content is played in a selected virtual channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6, when the second user terminal 300 selects a virtual channel (channel No. 99), the content providing server 100 transmits the content 750 provided from the first user terminal 300 through the virtual channel May be provided to the second user terminal 300. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the second user terminal 300 can view the content 750 provided through the virtual channel through the display device 600.

It will be appreciated that any particular order or hierarchy of steps in any of the presented processes is an example of exemplary approaches. It will be appreciated that, based on design priorities, certain orders or hierarchies of steps in processes may be rearranged within the scope of the present invention. The appended method claims provide elements of the various steps in an exemplary order, but are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The terms "component," "module," "system," and the like as used herein may refer to a computer-related entity, hardware, firmware, software, combination of software and hardware, or execution of software. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to, a process executing on a processor, a processor, an object, an executing thread, a program, and / or a computer. For example, both an application running on a computing device and a computing device may be a component. One or more components may reside within a processor and / or thread of execution, one component may be localized within one computer, or it may be distributed between two or more computers. Further, such components may execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored therein.

The description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features presented herein.

100: Content providing server
110: Memory
120: Processor
130:
200: first user terminal
300: second user terminal
600: display device

Claims (22)

A content providing method using a virtual channel,
Allocating a virtual channel according to a request of a first user terminal;
Receiving a view request for the virtual channel from a second user terminal; And
Transmitting the content to the second user terminal such that the content provided from the first user terminal is reproduced through the virtual channel at the second user terminal;
Wherein the virtual channel is a virtual channel. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein receiving the viewing request for the virtual channel comprises determining whether the second user terminal has rights to access the virtual channel,
Wherein transmitting the content to the second user terminal comprises transmitting the content to the second user terminal if the second user terminal has rights to access the virtual channel.
A method of providing contents using a virtual channel. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the step of determining whether the virtual channel has authority to access the virtual channel comprises:
Notifying the first user terminal of a viewing request for the virtual channel of the second user terminal; And
And receiving a virtual channel access grant from the first user terminal of the second user terminal. The method according to claim 1,
Receiving a virtual channel inquiry request from the second user terminal that the second user terminal is allowed to access; And
Providing virtual channel information to which the second user terminal is allowed to access,
Further comprising the steps of: 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the providing of the virtual channel information comprises:
And providing a list of virtual channels that the second user terminal is allowed to access. The method according to claim 1,
Receiving a virtual channel change request from the first user terminal; And
Further comprising changing the virtual channel in which the first user terminal provides the content to another virtual channel in response to the virtual channel change request.
A method of providing contents using a virtual channel. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein allocating the virtual channel comprises automatically assigning one of the available channels to the virtual channel if a specific virtual channel is not designated by the first user terminal.
A method of providing contents using a virtual channel. The method according to claim 1,
Generating a content list for the content provided from the first user terminal through the virtual channel; And
Further comprising: providing the content list to the second user terminal so that the second user terminal can select specific content to play.
A method of providing contents using a virtual channel. The method according to claim 1,
Receiving a playback stop request of the content from the second user terminal;
Storing the time information at which the reproduction of the content is stopped;
Receiving a replay request for the content that has stopped playing from the second user terminal; And
Transmitting the content to the second user terminal from a point of time when the playback is stopped;
Further comprising the steps of: The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the content provided from the first user terminal is obtained from a cloud server or a uniform resource locator (URL) address via a wired / wireless communication network. A content providing server using a virtual channel,
The method of claim 1, further comprising: allocating a virtual channel at a request of the first user terminal; receiving a view request for the virtual channel from the second user terminal; A processor configured to transmit the content to the second user terminal so that the content is played back; And
A memory coupled to the processor,
And a content providing server using the virtual channel. 12. The method of claim 11,
The processor comprising:
Determining whether the second user terminal has the right to access the virtual channel, and if the second user terminal has the right to access the virtual channel, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 >
Content delivery server using virtual channel. 13. The method of claim 12,
The processor comprising:
Notifying the first user terminal of a viewing request for the virtual channel of the second user terminal to determine whether the second user terminal has the right to access the virtual channel, A content providing server using a virtual channel, the content providing server being further configured to receive a virtual channel connection acknowledgment of the terminal. 12. The method of claim 11,
The processor comprising:
The method comprising the steps of: receiving a virtual channel inquiry request from the second user terminal, the virtual channel inquiry being allowed to be accessed by the second user terminal; and providing the virtual channel information to which the second user terminal is permitted to access, server. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the processor is further configured to provide a list of virtual channels that the second user terminal is allowed to access as the virtual channel information. 12. The method of claim 11,
The processor comprising:
Wherein the first user terminal is further configured to receive a virtual channel change request from the first user terminal and to change the virtual channel to which the first user terminal provides content in response to the virtual channel change request to another virtual channel, Content provisioning server. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the processor is further configured to automatically assign one of the available channels to the virtual channel if a specific virtual channel is not designated by the first user terminal. 12. The method of claim 11,
The processor comprising:
Further comprising generating a content list for the content provided from the first user terminal via the virtual channel and providing the content list to the second user terminal so that the second user terminal can select the specific content to play back ,
Content delivery server using virtual channel. 12. The method of claim 11,
The processor comprising:
Receiving a request to stop playback of the content from the second user terminal, storing the time information of stopping the playback of the content, receiving a request to view the content that has stopped playback from the second user terminal, And to transmit the content to the second user terminal from a point of time when the reproduction is stopped. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the content provided from the first user terminal is obtained from a cloud server or a uniform resource locator (URL) address via a wired / wireless communication network. A content providing service system using a virtual channel,
And allocating a virtual channel according to a request of the first user terminal and transmitting the content to the second user terminal such that a content provided by the first user terminal via the virtual channel is reproduced on the second user terminal A content providing server;
A first user terminal configured to request a virtual channel assignment to the content providing server and to provide content to be provided through an assigned virtual channel number; And
A second user terminal configured to request viewing of the virtual channel to the content providing server and receive the content provided through the virtual channel from the content providing server;
And a content providing system using the virtual channel. An application stored in a medium for executing a content providing method using a virtual channel,
Instructions for allocating a virtual channel at a request of a first user terminal;
Instructions for receiving a view request for the virtual channel from a second user terminal; And
Instructions for transmitting the content to the second user terminal such that the content provided from the first user terminal is reproduced via the virtual channel at the second user terminal;
.

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