TWI528795B - Multimedia broadcasting system in multiple node structure and multimedia broadcasting control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Multi-node architecture multimedia communication system and its multimedia propagation control method

The present invention relates to a multimedia communication system for transmitting multimedia content and a control method thereof.

With the development of technology, there are a variety of terminal devices that can transmit multimedia content, such as computers, televisions and tablets. Digital Signage, also known as kanban, electronic billboards, multimedia billboards, etc., is often installed in public places such as department stores and stations to disseminate multimedia information such as life information and advertisements, which can be used to replace traditional print ads or information boards. Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of an electronic signage system in accordance with one of the prior art techniques. The electronic signage system of Fig. 1 includes a content management system server CMS, edge servers ES1, ES2, ES3, ES11, ES12 and ES13 and electronic billboards APL1, APL2, APL3, APL4 and APL5. User terminals U1, U2 and U3 can be connected to the server CMS to communicate the multimedia content to be propagated to the server CMS. The server CMS controls the transfer of the multimedia content, and transmits the multimedia content to the electronic billboards APL1, APL2, APL3, APL4, and APL5 directly or through the edge server to cause the electronic billboards APL1, APL2, APL3, APL4, and APL5 to play the multimedia content. However, the electronic signage system of the prior art mainly has problems such as difficulty in expansion, data security, and application diversity. For example, with an electronic look The range of board systems is increased, and the hardware requirements for the server are also increased. Therefore, it may be necessary to replace the old server with a new server, which makes the expansion of the electronic signage system difficult. With the increasing range of the electronic signage system, it may also cause the management and control of the electronic signage system to be difficult, resulting in inefficiencies in data transmission efficiency. Therefore, there is a need for a multimedia communication system with a secure data transfer mechanism, high scalability and high applicability, and a control method thereof.

In view of this, the present invention provides a multi-node architecture multimedia communication system, which realizes a high-security, high-expansion and high-application multimedia communication system by controlling connection relationships, data transmission and management rights between nodes. .

An embodiment of the present invention provides a multi-node architecture multimedia communication system, including: a plurality of nodes, each node coupled to at least one of the nodes, the nodes including: a plurality of server nodes, each server The node is coupled to at least one of the server nodes and provides at least one multimedia content; and a plurality of multimedia playing terminal nodes, each of the multimedia playing terminal nodes receiving the one of the server nodes and transmitting the server node Multimedia content and playing the multimedia content; wherein the first server node of the server node is coupled to a second server node, the first server node transmits a first multimedia through the second server node The volume content is transmitted to at least one multimedia play terminal node controlled by the second server node; wherein each multimedia play terminal node is a multimedia play terminal including at least one display device or a sound broadcast device.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a multimedia propagation control party The method is applicable to a multi-node architecture multimedia communication system. The multi-node architecture multimedia communication system includes: a plurality of nodes, each node coupled to at least one of the nodes, the nodes including: a plurality of servers a node, each server node is coupled to at least one server node of the server nodes and provides at least one multimedia content; and a plurality of multimedia play terminal nodes, each of the multimedia play terminal nodes including at least one display device or broadcast a multimedia playback terminal of the device and receiving multimedia content transmitted by one of the server nodes to play the multimedia content; wherein the multimedia propagation control method comprises: adding a multimedia playback terminal node to the multi-node architecture In the multimedia communication system, the multimedia playback terminal node searches for the third servo of the server node closest to the multimedia playback terminal node in the multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture according to the node connection relationship table of the multimedia playback terminal node. Node and register to the third Server node to node by the third servo control.

20, 40‧‧‧ multi-node architecture

30‧‧‧ nodes

300‧‧‧ execution unit

310‧‧‧Decryption/Encryption Unit

320‧‧‧ receiving unit

330‧‧‧Path unit

340‧‧‧Transfer unit

A, B, C, D, E‧‧‧ nodes

APL1, APL2, APL3, APL4, APL5‧‧‧ electronic board

APL1_1, APL3_1_1, APL3_1_2, APL3_1_3, APL6_1, APL6_2‧‧‧ multimedia playback terminal nodes

C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6‧‧‧ groups

CMS‧‧‧ server

CMS1, CMS2, ..., CMS6‧‧‧ server nodes

ES1, ES2, ES3, ES11, ES12, ES13‧‧‧ edge server

ES3_1, ES3_2, ES3_3‧‧‧ relay nodes

S401, S402, ..., S415, S601, S602, ..., S606, S701, S702, ..., S708‧‧ steps

U1, U2, ..., U7‧‧‧ users

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of an electronic signage system in accordance with one of the prior art techniques.

2 is a schematic diagram of a multi-node architecture in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of a node in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flow chart showing a method of establishing a node link according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a multi-node architecture in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a flow chart showing a method of requesting a function or service in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a method for requesting a function or service by a new multimedia playback terminal node according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing a multi-node architecture multimedia communication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The following description is an embodiment of the present invention. The intent is to exemplify the general principles of the invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the claims.

It is noted that the following disclosure may provide embodiments or examples for practicing various features of the present invention. The specific elements and arrangements of the elements described below are merely illustrative of the spirit of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. In addition, the following description may reuse the same or similar component symbols or characters in various examples. However, the re-use is for the purpose of providing a simplified and clear description, and is not intended to limit the relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed below. In addition, the description of one of the features described in the following description is connected to, coupled to, and/or formed on another feature, etc., and may include a plurality of different embodiments, including direct contact of the features, or other additional Features are formed between the features and the like such that the features are not in direct contact.

The present invention provides a multi-node architecture multimedia communication system. The following embodiments first illustrate a multi-node architecture, and then illustrate a multimedia communication system under such a multi-node architecture. 2 is a schematic diagram of a multi-node architecture 20 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The multi-node architecture 20 includes nodes A, B, C, and D, each of which is coupled to at least one other node, each node providing at least one function or service Business. In the multi-node architecture of the present invention, a node can establish a transmission path with another node directly or through other nodes to transmit a message. Message transfer between nodes can be done in an encrypted manner. When a node transmits a message, it can restrict access or transmission of the message by other nodes. The node can broadcast messages or group messages to all or some of the nodes connected to it. When a node transmits a message to another node, the shortest transmission path can be calculated according to the number of relay nodes, the transmission rate of each link or/and the transmission quality, and the like, and the shortest transmission path is used to transmit the message to another node. A node may look up another node that provides a particular function or service based on its node association table and send a request message to the other node to obtain the particular function or service. In addition, nodes can control the permissions of other nodes to use the features or services they provide, or they can allow some or all of their own functions or services to be delegated to another node.

Nodes and nodes can transmit messages according to a protocol. For example, the content of the protocol may include a transmission source, a transmission destination, an identification code, and a number of message contents. The transmission source may include an identification code of the source node or may include an identification code of the source node and a transmission path message, for example, the path information may include an identification code of all the nodes passing through. The destination source may include an identification code of the destination node or the destination node group, the destination node may be one or more nodes, and the destination node group may also be one or more node groups. Each transmitted message has its corresponding and unique message identifier for identification. The content of the message can be multimedia content, materials, instructions, keys, permission settings, and the like. The permission settings may include permission settings for reading data, executing instructions, linking nodes, and the like. Therefore, the message transmission between the node and the node can define the access authority and the transmission authority of the node, and the transmission of the information between the nodes can achieve the hierarchical transmission, the star transmission or the mixing thereof through the control of the transmission authority. formula.

An exemplary composition of nodes in the multi-node architecture of the present invention is illustrated below in FIG. Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of a node 30 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The node 30 includes an execution unit 300, a decryption/encryption unit 310, a reception unit 320, a path unit 330, and a transmission unit 340. Execution unit 300 performs the functions or services of node 30 as well as other operations. For example, if the node 30 is a node that provides a multimedia playback function, the execution unit 300 can be a multimedia processor responsible for performing playback of the multimedia content. Execution unit 300 may also generate or execute the protocol content described above. For example, if the content of the message received by node 30 is an instruction, execution unit 300 performs the operations indicated by the instruction. The receiving unit 320 receives the message conforming to the above protocol from the source node and parses the protocol content. The path unit 330 calculates the optimal path to be transmitted to the destination node based on the node connection relationship table of the node 30 and the connection information and the like. The transmitting unit 340 transmits a message conforming to the above protocol to the destination node according to the optimal path calculated by the path unit 330. The decryption/encryption unit 310 performs decryption of the received protocol content according to a specific key with the source node or encrypts the protocol content according to a specific key with the destination node. In terms of keys, the key may include a public key, a private key that specifies one-way messaging with the destination node, a unique key that specifies the transfer of information to and from the destination node, and a specified and plural number. A group key for transmitting a message between destination nodes, and the like. It should be noted that the node configuration of FIG. 3 is merely exemplary and is not intended to limit the present invention. For example, the node may further include a storage device for storing its node connection relationship table, or the node may omit some of the units according to the function or service provided by the node.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the establishment of a node in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A flowchart of the method 40 of the junction. In the example of FIG. 4, the new node E wants to join the multi-node architecture to establish a connection with the node B in the multi-node architecture 20 of FIG. 2, where the node B has established a connection with the node A. First, in step S401, the node E requests to establish a link, for example, the node E transmits a link request to the node B. In step S402, when the node B receives the connection request from the node E, it determines whether the connection request of the node E is permitted. If not allowed (step S402: NO), as shown in step S403, the node B transmits a response rejecting the link request to the node E. The node E receives the response of the reject link request transmitted by the node B in step S404, and ends the link establishment. If the node B allows the connection request of the node E (step S402: YES), as shown in step S405, the node B updates the node connection relationship table of the node B, that is, the node E is added to the node connection relationship table of the node B. In step S406, the node B transmits a response to the connection request to the node E, and then the node E updates the node connection relation table of the node E in step S407, that is, the node B is added to the node connection relation table of the node E. In step S408, the node B determines whether the node E has obtained the qualification of the connection relationship between the node A and the node B, that is, whether the node E can be connected to the node A through the node B. If so (step S408: YES), the node B updates the node connection relation table of the node B (step S409), and transmits a response to the node E (step S410) to cause the node E to update the node connection relationship of the node E (step S411). In step S412, the node B determines whether the node A is qualified to obtain the connection relationship between the node B and the node E, that is, whether the node A can be connected to the node E through the node B. If so (step S412: YES), the node B updates the node connection relation table of the node B (step S413), and transmits a response to the node A (step S414) to cause the node A to update the node connection relationship of the node A (step S415). In the above steps S408 and S412, the node B can confirm to the node A or the node E whether to obtain the connection relationship through the security authentication mechanism. grid. If node E successfully establishes a connection with node B, nodes A~E form a multi-node structure 50 as shown in FIG.

Figure 6 is a flow diagram of a method 60 of requesting a function or service in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In the example of Fig. 6, the node A that has established a connection with the node B wants to request the function or service FS1 provided by the node B from the node B. In step S601, node A transmits a message requesting function or service FS1 to node B. In step S602, after the node B receives the request function transmitted by the node A or the message of the service FS1, the node B determines whether the node A conforms to the function or the qualification of the service FS1. For example, the Node B can determine whether the node A meets the function or the qualification of the service FS1 by using a security authentication mechanism. If the node A does not qualify for the function or service FS1 (step S602: NO), the node B transmits a response to the reject function or the service FS1 request to the node A (step S603), and the node A receives the response of the reject function or the service FS1 request ( Step S604) and the method 60 ends. In another example, after the node A receives the rejection function transmitted by the node B or the response of the service FS1 request, the node A may find another node that provides the function or service FS1 according to the node connection relationship table of the node A, and propose the node. Feature or service request. If the node A meets the qualification of the function or the service FS1 (step S602: YES), the node B transmits a response of the permission function or the service FS1 request to the node A (step S605), and the node A receives the response of the permission function or the service FS1 request (step S606). After the node A receives the response of the permission function or the service FS1 request, the node A may directly receive the function or service FS1 provided by the node B, or the node A may receive the node B according to the indication indicated in the response received in step S606. The feature or service provided by FS1. Requesting features or services includes requesting sharing features or services and exclusive sharing of features or services. If a node requests an exclusive function or service from another node and obtains permission, the other node may not Provide this feature or service to other nodes.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the multimedia communication system in the multi-node structure may include at least a server node, a relay node, and a multimedia play terminal node. The method of establishing a node connection and requesting a function or service of a server node, a relay node, and a multimedia play terminal node is similar to that described above, and thus will not be described again. The server node provides the ability to publish, edit, and adjust multimedia content so that users connected to the server node can publish, edit, and adjust multimedia content. The server node provides a server function to transmit multimedia content to at least one multimedia playback terminal node for playback and control of transmission and playback of the multimedia content. The server node can be a computer device having at least a processor and a storage device. The relay node provides a transport relay function to further transfer the multimedia content from the server node to the destination multimedia play terminal node or to temporarily store the multimedia content from the server node. The relay node may also transmit a message from the multimedia play terminal node to the destination server node or store the message from the multimedia play terminal node. The relay node can be a computer device having at least a processor and a storage device. The multimedia playing terminal node is a multimedia playing terminal having at least one display device or a broadcasting device, such as an electronic signboard, a video wall system, an interactive operating system, and the like. The multimedia playing terminal node provides a multimedia playing function, which can receive and play the multimedia file from the server node, or request a specific function or service from other nodes in the multi-node architecture, and then play the specific function or service. The following describes how a multimedia playback terminal node requests a particular function or service from other nodes in a multi-node architecture.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a method 70 of adding a multimedia play terminal node request function or service FS2 according to an embodiment of the invention. Here The multimedia propagation system under the multi-node architecture 40 of FIG. 5 illustrates the method 70, wherein the node B is a server node, the node A is a multimedia playback terminal node registered to the server node B, and the nodes C and D are specific. A node of a function or service, the node E is a multimedia play terminal node that is newly connected with the node B. For example, the node E has established a connection with the node B after establishing the node connection method shown in FIG. 4, and obtains a connection to the node B to Eligibility for nodes C and D. In step S701, the multimedia play terminal node E searches for the nearest server node and the node that provides a specific function or service according to its node connection relationship table. In this example, according to the node connection relationship table, the multimedia play terminal node E can It is known that the nearest server node is the server node B, and the node C has the function or service FS2 requested by the multimedia playback terminal node E. In step S702, the multimedia play terminal node E makes a registration request to the server node B to request to become a multimedia play terminal node that can be controlled by the server node B. In step S703, the server node B receives the registration request of the multimedia play terminal node E, and obtains the control right of the multimedia play terminal node E, and then in step S704, the server node B transmits a response to accept the registration request to the multimedia play terminal. The node E, the multimedia playback terminal node E receives the response in step S705 and accepts the control of the server node B. In step S706, the multimedia play terminal node E transmits the message requesting the function or the service FS2 to the node C, and then, in step S707, after the node C receives the message of the request function or the service FS2 transmitted by the multimedia play terminal node E, The function or service FS2 is provided to the multimedia play terminal node E, and then the multimedia play terminal node E receives the function or service FS2 provided by the node C in step S708. For example, the multimedia playing terminal node E requests the weather information service, and the node C is a node that can provide the weather information service, and therefore, in step S708, the multimedia playing terminal node E can get and play weather information from node C.

In an example, if the node C fails to operate normally, for example, after receiving the request of the step S706, the response of the node C is not received after a predetermined time, the multimedia playing terminal node E can find the providing function or service according to the node connection relationship table. The other nodes of FS2, and the request of step S706 is transmitted to this other node.

Figure 7 shows a method for requesting a function or service of a multimedia play terminal node added to a multimedia communication system in a multimedia communication system of a multi-node architecture, and is already registered in a multimedia communication system and registered to a server node. For other multimedia playback terminal nodes, steps S701 to S705 may be omitted, and the node providing the function or service FS2 is directly searched according to the node connection relationship table, and then steps S706 to S708 are performed.

In the disclosure, the node connection relationship table of each node may record a linkable node, a function or service provided by the linkable node, a possible path connected to the connectable node, and a link between the linkable node and the connectable node. Message transfer rate and quality, etc.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing a multi-node architecture multimedia communication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture (hereinafter referred to as the multimedia communication system) includes the server nodes CMS1 to CMS6, the relay nodes ES3_1 to ES3_3, the multimedia playback terminals APL1_1, APL3_1_1~APL3_1_3, APL6_1, and APL6_2. The users U1~U6 can be respectively connected to the server node to provide the multimedia content to be played to the server node. In Fig. 8, C1~C6 represent different groups, and each group includes at least one server node. For example, group C3 includes all nodes located in the same building. Compared with the prior art, in the multimedia communication system of this embodiment, the server node may Connect directly to another server node to share resources with another server node, obtain all or part of control of another server, or assist in forwarding messages to another server. Between the server node and the server node, all or part of the control of another server can be obtained by a method similar to that of FIG. It should be noted that the manner in which messages are transmitted between the nodes in FIG. 8 is the same as described above. The node can calculate the best path to the target node based on the node link relationship table. The node can use different keys according to different transmission requirements. For example, when the server node CMS3 wants to transmit a message to all nodes in the group C3, the group key can be used. With the setting of the key, the message can also be transmitted via some nodes but can only be accessed by a specific node.

The multimedia play terminal node of FIG. 8 can receive and play the multimedia content from the server node, and can also request the specific function or service from a node providing a specific function or service through a method similar to FIG. 6, for example, requesting a weather information service. , traffic information services, etc., to obtain the specific function or service and play the multimedia content of the specific function or service, such as playing weather information or traffic information. Since the multimedia playing terminal node can not only passively play the received multimedia content but also actively request other specific functions or services, the multimedia playing terminal node can be a multimedia playing terminal with interactive functions.

In the multimedia communication system of FIG. 8, a connection exists between the server nodes CMS1 and CMS2, and it is assumed that the group C6 is a group newly added to the multimedia communication system. The following describes a method in which the group C6 joins the multimedia communication system. This method is similar to Figure 4. First, the address of the server node CMS1 to which the server node CMS6 of the group C6 is to be connected, such as an IP address, is set to the server node CMS6 (for example, the address of the server node CMS1 is added to the server node CMS6). Node link relationship table). Server node CMS6 to server node The CMS1 transmits the message of the request link, and after receiving the message requesting the connection, the server node CMS1 adds the server node CMS6 to the node connection relationship table of the server node CMS1, and the server node CMS1 transmits the updated node connection relationship table to the server. The node CMS6 causes the server node CMS6 to obtain the node connection relationship table of the server node CMS1 and obtain the capability of communicating with all the server nodes, and the server node CMS1 transmits the message of updating the node connection relationship table to the server node CMS1. The other server nodes, such as the server node CMS2, cause other server nodes connected to the server node CMS1 to update the newly added server node CMS6 into the node connection relationship table. As described above, all nodes of group C6 can be easily added to the multimedia communication system, and the multimedia communication system can simultaneously include groups of different architectures, and the equipment cost and time cost of the multimedia communication system expansion are lower than those of the prior art.

The following takes the server node CMS2 and the server node CMS3 in FIG. 8 as an example to illustrate how the server node obtains the control right of the multimedia play terminal node controlled by another server node. First, the server node CMS2 transmits a message requesting the list of multimedia play terminal nodes of the group C3 to the server node CMS3, and the server node CMS3 replies to the list of multimedia play terminal nodes of the group C3 (including all the multimedia play terminals in the group C3). The identification code is sent to the server node CMS2, and then the server node CMS2 determines the multimedia play terminal node to be controlled according to the multimedia play terminal node of the group C3, and transmits a message requesting control of the multimedia play terminal node to the server node CMS3, the message It includes the identification code of the multimedia playback terminal node that the server node CMS2 wants to control, the function to be controlled, and the time to be controlled. After receiving the message requesting control of the multimedia playback terminal node, the server node CMS3 replies A list of the multimedia play terminal nodes that agree to control is connected to the server node CMS2, and the list of the multimedia play terminal nodes that agree to control includes the identification code of the multimedia play terminal node that agrees to the server node CMS2, the function of agreeing to control, and the time for agreeing to control. Upon receiving the list of multimedia play terminal nodes for consent control, the server node CMS2 may obtain control of some or all of the multimedia play terminal nodes in the group C3 indicated in the list of multimedia play terminal nodes that agree to control, that is, The server node CMS2 can control the message transmission with the multimedia play terminal that can be controlled by the server node CMS2 in the group C3, and can transmit the multimedia content to the multimedia play terminal in the group C3 that can be controlled by the server node CMS2. For playback, etc. The following describes how the server node CMS2 obtains the control rights of some or all of the multimedia play terminal nodes in the group C3, and then transmits the multimedia content to some or all of the multimedia play terminal nodes in the group C3 through the server node CMS3.

It is assumed that the server node CMS2 obtains the control rights of the multimedia playback terminals APL3_1_1~APL3_1_3 in the group C3. First, the server node CMS3 sets the relay node connected to the media playback terminals APL3_1_1~APL3_1_3 to ES3_1. The server node CMS2 transmits a multimedia content to the server node CMS3, the server node CMS3 temporarily stores the multimedia content to the relay node ES3_1, and then the server node CMS2 transmits the playlist to the server node CMS3, and the server node CMS3 will The playlist is transmitted to the media playback terminals APL3_1_1~APL3_1_3, and after the media play terminals APL3_1_1~APL3_1_3 receive the playlist, if they are on the playlist, the multimedia content is downloaded and played back from the relay node ES3_1.

When the media playback terminal APL3_1_1~APL3_1_3 plays multimedia After the body content, the media playback terminals APL3_1_1~APL3_1_3 will report the playback record. The multimedia playback terminal APL3_1_1~APL3_1_3 first transmits the play record to the relay node ES3_1, and the relay node ES3_1 can transmit the play record back to the server node CMS3 according to the setting of the server node CMS3 or not return the play record to the server node. The CMS3 is stored in the relay node ES3_1. For example, the server node CMS3 can be set to: if the play record is successfully played, the relay node ES3_1 does not need to send the play record back to the server node CMS3, and if the play record is failed to play, the relay node ES3_1 will play back the record. Passed to the server node CMS3. If the relay node ES3_1 does not return the play record back to the server node CMS3 and stores it in the relay node ES3_1, the server node CMS3 can access the play record stored in the relay node ES3_1 as needed. In another example, after the media play terminal play record is transmitted to the server node CMS3, the server node CMS3 can decide whether to return the play record to the server node CMS2 according to the content of the play record. For example, if the play record is successfully played, the server node CMS3 does not need to transmit the play record back to the server node CMS2, and if the play record is a play failure, the server node CMS3 returns the play record to the server node CMS2.

In the above embodiment, a server-like relationship is formed between the server node CMS2 and the server node CMS3. However, in the multimedia communication system of the present invention, such a master-slave relationship can be dynamically adjusted according to applications or requirements. . For example, the function of the node may be completely or partially opened to other nodes, or one node may control several other nodes according to different application environments of the multimedia communication system.

Similar to the play record described above, the boot message of the multimedia play terminal node can also be saved by the relay node or the server node. Figure 8 is For example, the multimedia play terminal APL3_1_1 is automatically turned on at a predetermined time, and the multimedia play terminal APL3_1_1 knows that the relay node connected thereto is the relay node ES3_1 according to its node connection relationship table, so the multimedia play terminal APL3_1_1 transmits the boot message to the relay node ES3_1, After receiving the boot message, the relay node ES3_1 knows that the server node connected to it is the server node CMS3 according to its node connection relationship table, and the relay node ES3_1 can decide whether to transmit the boot message according to the success or failure of the boot message. To the server node CMS3, the server node CMS3 can also decide whether to send the boot message to other server nodes according to the success or failure of the boot message. According to the description of the play record and the boot record, in the multimedia communication system of the present invention, the server node does not have to store all the multimedia terminal messages, so the hardware requirement of the server is relatively low, and the server network load It is also small and does not have to deal with huge messages.

According to the multimedia communication system shown in FIG. 8, local related multimedia content can be transmitted through the nearest server node, reducing the network and hardware burden of the unrelated group. For example, the user U6 or U7 transmits the area-related multimedia content required by the media playing terminals APL3_1_1~APL3_1_3 to the server node CMS3, and the server node CMS3 transmits the area-related multimedia content to the relay node ES3_1, the relay node ES3_1 The area-related multimedia content is transmitted to the media playing terminals APL3_1_1~APL3_1_3. The area-related multimedia content can be set by the key so that only the multimedia playing terminal in the area can access the multimedia content.

It should be noted that the transmission of the multimedia content, messages, etc. described above is subject to the aforementioned messaging protocol. The following describes how the multimedia distribution system of the present invention transmits content having a high security level. Referring to Figure 8, In an example, after the multimedia terminal node APL3_1_1 plays an advertisement, the multimedia terminal node APL3_1_1 sets a private key in the message transmitting the advertisement play record and sets the destination node as the server node CMS1, and encrypts the message with the private key in advance. . The multimedia terminal node APL3_1_1 then transmits the message to the relay node ES3_1. The relay node ES3_1 can know from the destination node identifier in the message that the destination node of the message is the server node CMS1, and therefore the relay node ES3_1 is connected according to its node. The relationship table transmits this message to the server node CMS3. After receiving the message, the server node CMS3 can know that the destination node of the message is the server node CMS1 according to the destination node identification code in the message, and therefore transmits the message to the server node CMS2 according to its node connection relationship table. After receiving the message, the server node CMS2 can know that the destination node of the message is the server node CMS1 according to the destination node identifier in the message, and therefore transmits the message to the server node CMS1. After receiving the message, the server node CMS1 decrypts the message according to the private key provided by the multimedia terminal node APL3_1_1 to obtain the advertisement play record. If both the server nodes CMS2 and CMS3 have the private key provided by the multimedia terminal node APL3_1_1, the server nodes CMS2 and CMS3 both decrypt the message to obtain the advertisement play record. The relay node ES3_1 cannot decrypt the message to obtain the advertisement play record because there is no private key provided by the multimedia terminal node APL3_1_1. In another example, after the multimedia terminal node APL3_1_1 plays an advertisement, and wants to transmit the advertisement play record to the server node CMS3 but does not want other nodes to access the advertisement play record, the multimedia terminal node APL3_1_1 transmits the advertisement play record. A unique key assigned to the server node CMS3 is set in the message, and the message is encrypted in advance with this unique key. The media terminal node APL3_1_1 then transmits this message to the relay node ES3_1, the relay node ES3_1 can know that the destination node of the message is the server node CMS3 from the destination node identifier in the message, so the relay node ES3_1 transmits the message from the message to the server node CMS3, and the server node CMS3 receives the message. Decrypting the message according to the unique key provided by the multimedia terminal node APL3_1_1 to obtain the advertisement play record. In summary, by setting the public key, the private key, the unique key, etc., the information of different needs can be encrypted by using an appropriate key method, thereby achieving secure transmission.

According to the multi-node architecture multimedia communication system described in the above embodiments, the permission control of the message transmission can have both a hierarchical sub-architecture and a star sub-architecture, so that it can be applied to various application environments or to complex The network architecture, and the different architectures in the system can coexist, and the architecture incompatibility will not arise due to the expansion of the system. In addition, after proper setting, the functions of each node in the multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture may be completely or partially open to other nodes, and the management authority between the nodes and the nodes may be set according to the requirements of the application environment. In addition, through the protocol content and key, the message transmission between nodes has a certain security mechanism to protect the content of the message and coexist with the current transmission security mechanism. The data transmission protocol and the key can be used to achieve multiple transmission modes, such as group transmission, specific destination transmission, and the like. Moreover, the multimedia playing terminal node can request a specific function or service from other nodes that provide a specific function or service, and thus the multimedia communication system of the present invention can easily establish a function or service link. The multi-node architecture and control method of the multimedia communication system of the present invention enables the multimedia communication system of the present invention to have high scalability, and can easily add other multimedia playback terminals to the multimedia communication system, such as a video wall and multimedia with interactive functions. Interactive devices, etc., can also easily exist existing A multimedia communication subsystem (such as the group in Figure 8) is added to the multimedia communication system. Since some or all of the control nodes can share or authorize control among the server nodes in the multimedia communication system, the management is not excessively centralized, and the problem of low multimedia transmission efficiency can be avoided.

The method of the invention, or a particular type or portion thereof, may exist in the form of a code. The code may be embodied in a physical medium such as a floppy disk, a CD, a hard disk, or any other electronic device or a non-transitory machine readable (eg computer readable) storage medium, or is not limited to an external form. A computer program product, wherein when the code is loaded and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes a device or system for participating in the present invention and the method steps of the present invention can be performed. The code can also be transmitted over some transmission medium, such as wire or cable, fiber optics, or any transmission type, where the machine becomes available when the code is received, loaded, and executed by an electronic device or machine, such as a computer. To participate in the system or device of the present invention. When implemented in a general purpose processing unit, the code combination processing unit provides a unique means of operation similar to application specific logic.

The above is an overview feature of the embodiment. Those having ordinary skill in the art should be able to use the present invention as a basis for design or adaptation to achieve the same objectives and/or achieve the same advantages of the embodiments described herein. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the same configuration should not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and various changes, substitutions and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The illustrative methods are merely illustrative of the steps, but are not necessarily performed in the order presented. The steps may be additionally added, substituted, changed, and/or eliminated, as appropriate, and are consistent with the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments.

APL1_1, APL3_1_1, APL3_1_2, APL3_1_3, APL6_1, APL6_2‧‧‧ multimedia playback terminal nodes

C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6‧‧‧ groups

CMS1, CMS2, ..., CMS6‧‧‧ server nodes

ES3_1, ES3_2, ES3_3‧‧‧ relay nodes

U1, U2, ..., U7‧‧‧ users

Claims (18)

A multimedia communication system of a multi-node architecture, comprising: a plurality of nodes, each node coupled to at least one of the nodes, the nodes comprising: a plurality of server nodes, each server node being coupled to the nodes At least one server node of the server node and providing at least one multimedia content; and a plurality of multimedia playing terminal nodes, each multimedia playing terminal node receiving the multimedia content transmitted by one of the server nodes and playing the multimedia Content: wherein the first server node is coupled to a second server node, and the first server node transmits a first multimedia content to the first server node At least one multimedia playback terminal node controlled by the two server nodes; wherein each multimedia playback terminal node is a multimedia playback terminal including at least one display device or a broadcast device; wherein when a multimedia playback terminal node is added to the multimedia of the multi-node architecture When the system is propagated, the multimedia playback terminal node is based on the multimedia playback terminal a node connection relationship table of the point is used to find one of the server nodes of the multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture that is closest to the multimedia playback terminal node, and register with the third server node to receive the third server node Three server node control. The multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture of claim 1, wherein the first server node transmits a multimedia play terminal node list request to the second server node to obtain the second server node control. a list of a plurality of multimedia play terminal nodes, the first server node transmitting a multimedia play terminal node control right request to the second server node according to the list, and obtaining the second servo according to the response of the second server node Control of the at least one multimedia playback terminal node controlled by the node. The multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture of claim 1, wherein one of the multimedia playback terminal nodes searches for a specific one of the nodes according to the node connection relationship table of the multimedia playback terminal node A node of a function or service that requests the particular function or service to play the multimedia content for that particular function or service. The multi-node architecture multimedia communication system according to claim 1, wherein the message transmitted between the nodes is transmitted in a manner consistent with a transmission protocol, and the transmission protocol includes a key, and the message is encrypted by the key. A multi-node architecture multimedia communication system as described in claim 4, wherein the message defines a node that can access the message and a node that can transmit the message. The multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture described in claim 4, wherein each node calculates an optimal path between the node and the destination node according to the node connection relationship table of each node, and transmits the message according to the optimal path. . The multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture of claim 1, wherein the nodes further comprise at least one relay node, the at least one relay node being coupled to one of the server nodes and the server node At least two multimedia play terminal nodes of the multimedia play terminal nodes, the at least one relay node relays or temporarily stores the server node and the at least two multimedia Play messages transmitted between endpoints. The multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture of claim 7, wherein the at least one relay node stores multimedia terminal information from the at least two multimedia playback terminal nodes without transmitting to the server node. The multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture of claim 1, wherein the multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture comprises at least one group, each of the at least one group comprising at least one of the plurality of server nodes a server node, wherein when a group is added to the multimedia propagation system of the multi-node architecture, the address of one of the third server nodes of the server node is set to a node of the server node of the group Linking the relationship table, the server node of the group transmits a node connection relationship table request to the third server node, and the third server node transmits the node connection relationship table of the third server node to the servo of the group A node that enables the server nodes of the group to communicate with the server nodes. A multimedia propagation control method is applicable to a multi-node architecture multimedia communication system. The multi-node architecture multimedia communication system includes: a plurality of nodes, each node coupled to at least one of the nodes, the nodes including: a plurality of server nodes, each server node coupled to at least one of the server nodes and providing at least one multimedia content; and a plurality of multimedia playback terminal nodes, each of the multimedia playback terminal nodes including at least one Displaying a multimedia playback terminal of the device or the broadcast device and receiving multimedia content transmitted by one of the server nodes to play the multimedia content; The multimedia propagation control method includes: a first server node of the server nodes is coupled to one of the server nodes of the first server node, and a second server node Transmitting the media content to the at least one multimedia play terminal node controlled by the second server node, causing the at least one multimedia play terminal node to play the first multimedia content; and adding a multimedia play terminal node to the multi-node When the multimedia broadcast system is configured, the multimedia play terminal node searches for the server node closest to the multimedia play terminal node in the multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture according to the node connection relationship table of the multimedia play terminal node. A three server node and registered to the third server node to be controlled by the third server node. The multimedia propagation control method according to claim 10, further comprising: transmitting, by the first server node, a multimedia play terminal node list request to the second server node to obtain the second server node control a list of a plurality of multimedia playback terminal nodes; the first server node transmits a multimedia play terminal node control right request to the second server node according to the list, and obtains the second servo according to the response of the second server node Control of the at least one multimedia playback terminal node controlled by the node. The multimedia propagation control method according to claim 10, further comprising: one of the multimedia playback terminal nodes according to the multimedia playback terminal nodes The node link relationship table looks for a node in the node that provides a particular function or service; requests the particular function or service from the node to cause the multimedia play terminal node to play the multimedia content of the particular function or service. The multimedia propagation control method according to claim 10, further comprising: transmitting a message between nodes in a manner consistent with a transmission protocol; wherein the transmission protocol includes a key, and the message is encrypted by the key. The multimedia propagation control method of claim 13, further comprising: a node that can access the message and a node that can transmit the message. The multimedia propagation control method of claim 13, further comprising: calculating an optimal path between the node and the destination node according to the node connection relationship table of each node, and transmitting the message by the optimal path. The multimedia propagation control method of claim 10, wherein the nodes further comprise at least one relay node, the at least one relay node being coupled to one of the server nodes and the multimedia node And playing the terminal node, wherein the multimedia propagation control method further comprises: relaying or temporarily storing, by the at least one relay node, a message transmitted between the server node and the at least two multimedia playback terminal nodes. For example, the multimedia communication control method described in claim 16 of the patent scope further includes: The multimedia terminal message from the at least two multimedia playback terminal nodes is stored to the at least one relay node for storage and not transmitted to the server node. The multimedia propagation control method of claim 10, wherein the multimedia communication system of the multi-node architecture comprises at least one group, each of the at least one group comprising at least one of the plurality of server nodes The node, the multimedia propagation control method further includes: when a group is added to the multimedia propagation system of the multi-node architecture, setting the address of one of the third server nodes of the server node to the servo of the group a node connection relationship table of the node, the server node of the group transmits a node connection relationship table request to the third server node, and the third server node transmits the node connection relationship table of the third server node The server nodes to the group enable the server nodes of the group to obtain the ability to communicate with the server nodes.