TWI539800B - Method and electronic device for multimedia data transmission - Google Patents

Description

Method for transmitting multimedia data and electronic device thereof

The present invention relates to a technique for data transmission, and more particularly to a method for transmitting multimedia data and an electronic device therefor.

In recent years, with the rapid development of the Internet and the improvement of software and hardware technologies, users' demand for information services has increased, and cloud technology has grown. Cloud technology represents a large computing power and storage capacity, which can use the network to obtain remote computing resources, storage resources or services when the local resources are limited.

The cloud service developed so far allows users to use PCs, tablets, smart phones and other products in tandem through the cloud network platform, allowing users to share and manage personal use among different devices in a secure environment. Various products. For example, this technology allows users to play or browse audio and video files or files stored on a personal computer at home or in the office, and enjoy their favorite movies, music and photos, even when they are away from home. Instantly query and browse important files.

However, in the context of multimedia playback, the mobile device can start enjoying multimedia entertainment after waiting for the multimedia device to wait for the remote device to wake up, wait for the remote device to wake up, and download a sufficient amount of multimedia data. The above additional waiting time will affect the user experience.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a method for transmitting multimedia data and an electronic device thereof, which can download multimedia materials to be played in advance from a remote device to achieve a smooth user experience during actual playback.

The invention provides a method for transmitting multimedia data, which is suitable for a mobile device, wherein the mobile device can establish a connection with a remote device storing a plurality of multimedia materials through a network. This method includes the following steps. When receiving the play signal associated with the current multimedia material in the multimedia material, determining whether the current time point is located in one of the at least one play time period recorded in the learning database. When the current time point is located in the first playing period in the playing period, the multimedia player is used to play the preloaded data associated with the current multimedia material, and it is determined whether the current preload amount of the preloaded data reaches the first playing period. The first estimate of the amount of data used. When the current preload amount has not reached the first estimated data usage amount, the preload demand is sent to the remote device, so that the current preload amount reaches the first estimated data usage amount. When the current preload amount has reached the first estimated data usage amount, when the multimedia player stops playing, the first playing time length is recorded in the learning database. When the current time point is not located in the playing period, the multimedia player is used to play the related multimedia resources. Preloading data of the material, and recording the new playing time corresponding to the current time point in the learning database, and when the multimedia player stops playing, recording the new playing time length corresponding to the newly added playing time in the learning database .

The invention further provides an electronic device comprising a memory and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the memory comprises a learning database. The processor is able to connect the electronic device to the remote device storing the plurality of multimedia materials through the network. When the processor receives the play signal associated with the current multimedia material in the multimedia material, the processor determines whether the current time point is located in one of the at least one play time period recorded in the learning database. When the current time point is located in the first playing period in the playing period, the processor uses the multimedia player to play the preloaded data associated with the current multimedia material, and determines whether the current preload amount of the preloaded data reaches the first playing period. The corresponding first estimated data usage. When the current preload amount has not reached the first estimated data usage amount, the processor sends the preload demand to the remote device so that the current preload amount reaches the first estimated data usage amount. When the current preload amount has reached the first estimated data usage amount, when the multimedia player stops playing, the processor records the first playing time length in the learning database. When the current time point is not located in the playing time period, the multimedia player is used to play the preloaded data associated with the current multimedia material, and the processor records the new playing time period corresponding to the current time point in the learning database, and is in the multimedia player. When the playback is stopped, the processor records the length of the new playback time corresponding to the new playback period in the learning database.

Based on the above, the method for transmitting multimedia data and the electronic device thereof according to the present invention are based on a playing period played by a multimedia player and corresponding to each The average playing time of the playing period is used to estimate the amount of data used for the preloaded data. Before the multimedia player plays the preloaded data, it can estimate the preload amount required for the next playback to download in advance. In this way, when the user wants to play the multimedia material, the user does not need to spend time waiting for the download of the multimedia material, and then can enjoy the multimedia entertainment to achieve a smooth user experience.

The above described features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

100‧‧‧ system

110‧‧‧Remote device

150‧‧‧Network

200‧‧‧ mobile device

210‧‧‧ memory

220‧‧‧ processor

S302~S314, S402~S412‧‧‧ Method flow of multimedia data transmission

401‧‧‧Learning database

405‧‧‧Preloaded information

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for transmitting multimedia data according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for transmitting multimedia data according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a method for transmitting multimedia data according to an embodiment of the invention.

The components of the present invention will be described in detail in the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are only a part of the present invention, and Not all embodiments of the invention are disclosed. Rather, these embodiments are merely examples of devices and methods within the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram of a multimedia data transmission according to an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile device according to an embodiment of the invention, but this is for convenience of explanation and is not used. To limit the invention. First, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 first introduce the overall architecture of the multimedia data transmission system and the component configuration of the electronic device, and the detailed functions will be disclosed together with FIG.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the multimedia data transmission system 100 includes a remote device 110, a network 150, and a mobile device 200.

The remote device 110 can be a desktop computer, an integrated computer, a server computer, or the like, which has a large storage space but is less portable, but the invention is not limited thereto. The remote device 110 stores a plurality of multimedia materials, wherein the multimedia materials may be multimedia audio and video files such as music and movies.

In this embodiment, the mobile device 200 can be a portable electronic device such as a notebook computer, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a car computer, a portable video player, etc., but the present invention does not limit.

The mobile device 200 can establish a connection with the remote device 110 via the network 150 to enable the mobile device 200 to access the multimedia material in the remote device 110. In other words, the mobile device 200 can establish a connection with the remote device 110 by using a communication method such as WiMAX protocol, Wi-Fi protocol, 2G protocol, 3G protocol or 4G protocol, ADSL broadband or fiber network. The invention is not limited thereto.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the mobile device 200 includes a memory 210 and one or more Processor 220.

The memory 210 can be, for example, any type of fixed or removable random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory (flash memory), A hard disk or other similar device or combination of these devices is used to record the data necessary for the multimedia data transmission to be performed by the processor 220.

The processor 220 can be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), and/or other programmable general purpose or special purpose microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), Programmable controllers, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), or other similar devices or combinations of these devices. The processor 220 is coupled to the memory 210, and can access the data recorded in the memory 210 and perform the transmission of the multimedia material.

Before proceeding with the method flow of the multimedia data transmission of FIG. 3, the pre-flow of the method will be described here first. In this embodiment, the memory 210 of the mobile device 200 includes a learning database (not shown), and the processor 220 can record the playing habits of the user of the mobile device 200 in the learning database.

In particular, the processor 220 can record using the time zone played by the multimedia player. For example, when the multimedia player starts playing the multimedia material, the processor 220 records the time zone (herein defined as "playing time period") to which the playback belongs. Suppose 1 hour is used as 1 play time, then there will be 24 play in 1 day. Time period. Whenever the processor 220 records a play period, it may first check whether the data of the play period exists in the learning database. If not, the processor 220 will newly create a record of the play period. Then, the processor 220 calculates the time (hereinafter defined as "play time length") of the multimedia player continuously playing the multimedia material in the playing period to obtain the data usage amount of the playing period. If the length of the play time spans more than one play period, the processor 220 will still use the play period to which the multimedia player starts playing the multimedia material as the recording standard. In addition, the processor 220 will calculate the average play time length of each play period in the learning database for use in the multimedia material for transmission. In short, the learning library will record the individual playback periods and their corresponding average playback time length. However, the invention is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, the learning database further records the type of the movie played by the multimedia player during each playing period or learns the playing behavior of more users.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for transmitting multimedia data according to an embodiment of the invention. The method of the present embodiment is applicable to the system 100 for multimedia data transmission of FIG. 1 and the mobile device 200 of FIG. 2. The following describes the steps of the method in conjunction with the components of the system 100 for transmitting multimedia data and the mobile device 200.

Referring to FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , firstly, when the processor 220 of the mobile device 200 receives a play signal associated with one of the current multimedia materials stored in the multimedia data stored by the remote device 110 (step S302 ), The processor 220 will determine whether the current time point is located in one of the playback periods recorded in the learning library (step S304). That is to say, the processor 220 receives the user's desire to utilize more When the media player plays the input command of the current multimedia material, it will judge whether the current time point is located in any playing time period recorded in the learning database. The current multimedia material here may be a movie in the playlist of the multimedia player that has not been played by the user in the previous time.

When the current time point is in the first playing period in the playing period, the processor 220 will play the preloaded data stored in the storage device 210 and associated with the current multimedia material by using the multimedia player (step S306), and judge the preloading. Whether the current preload amount of the data reaches the first estimated data usage amount corresponding to the first play period (step S308). Here, the preloaded data associated with the current multimedia material may be a segment of the playlist after the movie that has not been played by the user for the previous time and/or a segment of at least one other related movie or the entire movie. In an embodiment, the multimedia player may generate different playlists according to the type of the movie, and the preloaded data may be a movie in the playlist corresponding to the first play period, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In particular, prior to the current point in time, the processor 220 has previously downloaded the preloaded material associated with the current multimedia material from the remote device 110. For example, when the multimedia device plays the current multimedia material in the previous playing period, the processor 220 downloads the preloaded data corresponding to the playing period from the remote device 110 periodically or continuously to reach the playing period. The estimated amount of data used.

In this embodiment, the processor 220 obtains the first estimated data according to the streaming quality of the pre-loaded data played by the multimedia player, the average playing time length corresponding to the first playing period, and the used storage space of the memory 210. the amount. Assume that the streaming quality of the pre-loaded data played by the multimedia player is 10MB/min, and the first broadcast The average playback time corresponding to the playback period is 80 minutes. If the storage space of the memory 210 is sufficient to store 800 MB of data, the first estimated data usage will be 800 MB. If the storage space of the memory 210 is only enough to store 600 MB of data, the first estimated data usage will be 600 MB.

When the current preload amount has not reached the first estimated data usage amount, the processor 220 will send the preload demand to the remote device 110 to bring the current preload amount to the first estimated data usage amount (step S310). That is, when the processor 220 determines that the current preload amount of the preloaded data has not reached the first estimated data usage amount corresponding to the first playing period, the preloading demand will be sent to the remote device 110 to the remote device. 110 downloads more preloaded data so that the preloaded amount of preloaded data in the memory 210 reaches the usage amount required for the first play period.

When the current preload amount has reached the first estimated data usage amount, the processor 220 records the first play time length in the learning database when the multimedia player stops playing (step S312). In detail, when the multimedia player stops playing, the processor 220 records the continuous playing time of the multimedia player in the learning database. In addition, since the learning database itself has recorded the first playing period and the corresponding average playing time length, the processor 220 will update the average playing time length corresponding to the first playing period according to the first playing time length.

In this embodiment, the processor 220 sends another preload requirement to the remote device 110 before the preloaded data is played by the multimedia player, so that the preloaded amount of the preloaded data in the memory 210 reaches the first playing period. The amount of usage required. For example, suppose the multimedia player has a preset playlist by the user, wherein The playlist contains two general-quality audio and video multimedia files: File 1 and File 2. File 1 has a playback time of 80 minutes and an average stream quality of 10 MB/minute. File 2 has a playback time of 70 minutes and an average stream quality of 10 MB/minute. It is assumed that the average play time length of the first play period is 100 minutes. Therefore, the processor 220 will calculate the preloaded data to include the 80-minute play length of the file 1, and the 20-minute play length of the file 2, and when the user views the first 20 minutes of the file 1, the processor 220 will load the other 20 minutes of the archive 2 from the remote unit 110 to match the user's habit of watching 100 minutes during the first play period.

On the other hand, when the processor 220 determines in step S308 that the current time point does not meet the play period, the processor 220 will play the preloaded data associated with the current multimedia material and will add a new play period corresponding to the current time point. Recorded in the learning database, and when the multimedia player stops playing, the length of the new playing time corresponding to the newly added playing period is recorded in the learning database (step S314). In detail, when the current time point does not meet the playing time period, since the learning database itself does not have relevant data corresponding to the current time point, the current time point is recorded in the learning database to generate a new playing time period. . At this time, the processor 220 can still use the multimedia player to play the preloaded data associated with the current multimedia material. In an embodiment, the processor 220 may first learn from the learning database to find the next playing period closest to the current time point (defined herein as the "second playing period"), and obtain the average playing time length of the next playing period. , to calculate a second estimated data usage amount corresponding to the second playing period. The calculation method of the second estimated data usage can be referred to The foregoing description of the usage of the first estimated data will not be repeated here.

While the multimedia player plays the preloaded data, the processor 220 sends the preloaded demand to the remote end when determining that the current preload amount of the preloaded data has not reached the second estimated data usage amount corresponding to the second playing period. The device 110 downloads more preloaded data from the remote device 110, so that the preloaded amount of preloaded data in the memory 210 reaches the usage amount required for the second playing period. In addition, when the multimedia player stops playing, the processor 220 records the continuous playing time of the multimedia player in the learning database to generate a new playing time length corresponding to the newly added playing period.

The foregoing method for transmitting multimedia data can be summarized by using the functional block diagram of FIG. 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, first, when the user wants to play multimedia using the mobile device 200 (step S402), the mobile device 200 will query whether there is a similar playing period in the learning database 401 (step S404). If so, the mobile device 200 will seamlessly play the multimedia using the stored preloaded data 405 (step S406). Further, the mobile device 200 determines whether or not to issue a preload request to the remote device 110 based on the preload amount of the preloaded data 405 (step S408). If so, the mobile device 200 will issue a preload request to the remote device 110 (step S410), and the remote device 110 will transmit more data associated with the preloaded data 405 so that the preloaded data 405 meets the expected preload. the amount. If not, the mobile device 200 will record the related information of the play period, and update the relevant record of the learning database 401 as the reference data preloaded later (step S412). On the other hand, if the mobile device 200 cannot find a similar playing time period from the learning database 401, the mobile device 200 can still play the preloaded data first. 405, and determining whether to pre-load the remote device 110 with the preload amount expected from the next playing period closest to the playing time point, and adding the playing period and its related record to the learning database 401 (Step S414). For the steps of FIG. 4, please refer to the related description of the foregoing paragraphs, and details are not described herein again.

In summary, the method for transmitting multimedia data and the electronic device thereof according to the present invention are required to estimate the preloaded data according to the playing period played by the multimedia player and the average playing time length corresponding to each of the playing periods. Data usage. Before the multimedia player plays the preloaded data, it can estimate the preload amount required for the next playback to download in advance. In this way, when the user wants to play the multimedia material, the user does not need to spend time waiting for the download of the multimedia material, and then can enjoy the multimedia entertainment to achieve a smooth user experience.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some changes and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

S302~S314‧‧‧ Method flow of multimedia data transmission

Claims (12)

A method for transmitting multimedia data, which is applicable to a mobile device, wherein the mobile device can establish a connection with a remote device storing a plurality of multimedia materials through a network, the method comprising: when receiving the association with the multimedia material Determining whether a current time point is located in one of at least one playing time period recorded in a learning database when a broadcast signal of the current multimedia material is present; when the current time point is located at a first time in the playing time period During the playing period, a multimedia player is used to play a preloaded data associated with the current multimedia material, and it is determined whether a current preload amount of the preloaded data reaches a first estimated data corresponding to the first playing period. The usage amount; when the current preload amount has not reached the first estimated data usage amount, sending a preload demand to the remote device, so that the current preload amount reaches the first estimated data usage amount; When the current preload amount has reached the first estimated data usage amount, when the multimedia player stops playing, recording a first play time length is In the library; and when the current time point is not located in the playing period, the multimedia player is used to play the preloaded data associated with the current multimedia material, and a new playing period corresponding to the current time point is recorded. And in the learning database, and when the multimedia player stops playing, recording a new playing time length corresponding to the new playing period to the learning database. The method of claim 1, wherein before the step of receiving the broadcast signal associated with the current multimedia material in the multimedia material, the method further comprises: obtaining the a playing period and at least one playing time length corresponding to each of the playing periods; and for each of the playing periods, calculating an average playing time length of the playing time length, and recording in the learning database. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of obtaining the first estimated data usage comprises: obtaining a stream quality of the multimedia player playing the preloaded data; and obtaining a used storage of the memory. And calculating the first estimated data usage amount according to the streaming quality, the average playing time length corresponding to the first playing period, and the used storage space. The method of claim 1, wherein before the playing of the preloaded data by the multimedia player, the method further comprises: transmitting another preload requirement to the remote device to make the current preload The amount reaches the first estimated data usage. The method of claim 2, wherein after the recording the first playing time length of the learning database, the method further comprises: updating the corresponding one of the first playing time period according to the first playing time length The average play time length. The method of claim 3, wherein the current time point The method further includes: obtaining the stream quality of the pre-loaded data of the multimedia player; and obtaining the use of the memory, before the playing of the pre-loaded data is performed by the multimedia player. a second playback period, wherein the second playback period is the next playback period closest to the current time point; according to the stream quality, the second playback period corresponds to Calculating a second estimated data usage amount by using the average playing time length and the used storage space; and transmitting another preloading demand to the remote device, so that the current preload amount reaches the second estimated data usage amount . An electronic device comprising: a memory, comprising a learning database; and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein: the processor is configured to transmit the electronic device to a plurality of multimedia materials through a network The remote device establishes a connection; when the processor receives a broadcast signal associated with a current multimedia material in the multimedia material, the processor determines whether a current time point is located in the learning database. One of the playing time periods; when the current time point is located in a first playing period of the playing period, the processor uses a multimedia player to play a preloaded data associated with the current multimedia material, and judges Whether a current preload amount of the preloaded data reaches a first estimated data usage amount corresponding to the first playing period; When the current preload amount has not reached the first estimated data usage amount, the processor sends a preload demand to the remote device, so that the current preload amount reaches the first estimated data usage amount; When the current preload amount has reached the first estimated data usage amount, when the multimedia player stops playing, the processor records a first playing time length in the learning database; and when the current time point is not When the playing period is used, the multimedia player is used to play the preloaded data associated with the current multimedia material, and the processor records a new playing time period corresponding to the current time point in the learning database, and When the multimedia player stops playing, the processor records a new play time length corresponding to the new play period to the learning database. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processor obtains the playback of the multimedia device by the processor before receiving the playback signal associated with the current multimedia material in the multimedia material. The playing period and the at least one playing time length corresponding to each of the playing periods, and for each of the playing periods, calculating an average playing time length of the playing time length, and recording in the learning database. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the processor obtains a stream quality of the pre-loaded data of the multimedia player, obtains a used storage space of the memory, and according to the stream quality, The first playing time length corresponding to the first playing period and the used storage space are used to calculate the first estimated data usage amount. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processor sends another preload requirement to the remote device before the preloaded data is played by the multimedia player, so that the current The preload amount reaches the usage amount of the first estimated data. The electronic device of claim 8, after the processor records the length of the first playing time in the learning database, the processor further updates the first playing period according to the length of the first playing time. Corresponding to the average play time length. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein when the current time point does not meet the playing time period, the processor obtains the pre-loaded data before playing the pre-loaded data by using the multimedia player. The multimedia player plays the stream quality of the preloaded data, obtains the used storage space of the memory, obtains a second playing period from the playing period, and according to the stream quality, the second playing period Corresponding to the average playing time length and the used storage space, calculating a second estimated data usage amount, and transmitting another preloading demand to the remote device, so that the current preload amount reaches the second estimated The data usage amount, wherein the second playing period is the next playing period closest to the current time point.