WO2003096649A1 - Apparatus and method for distribution of streamed real-time information between clients - Google Patents
Apparatus and method for distribution of streamed real-time information between clients Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2003096649A1 WO2003096649A1 PCT/SE2003/000745 SE0300745W WO03096649A1 WO 2003096649 A1 WO2003096649 A1 WO 2003096649A1 SE 0300745 W SE0300745 W SE 0300745W WO 03096649 A1 WO03096649 A1 WO 03096649A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- facility
- client terminal
- streamed
- distribution
- signal stream
- Prior art date
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Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L65/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communication
- H04L65/60—Network streaming of media packets
- H04L65/75—Media network packet handling
- H04L65/762—Media network packet handling at the source
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L65/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communication
- H04L65/1066—Session management
- H04L65/1101—Session protocols
Definitions
- the present invention relates to distribution of real-time image and audio information. More in detail, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for sending video from the one image capturing means, such as a camera, to several destinations.
- the Internet offers access to information sources world- wide and it has turned out to be the perfect tool for retrieval of all kinds of content, irrespective of whether the information content is audio or graphics. Typically we do not expect to benefit from the Internet and information found and retrieved from there until we arrive at some familiar point, such as in the work office, in school or in front of a computer terminal at home.
- IP Internet Protocol
- US patent 5,758,094 discloses a computer imaging communications system which includes a flexible CCD controller architecture for computer-based camera applications. The disclosed architecture allows control and intelligence to be distributed among the host computer, computer adapter interface and a camera head.
- control can be further shared between a remote host computer and a local controller computer.
- a remote host computer In the case of geographically distributed cameras, control can be further shared between a remote host computer and a local controller computer.
- a user wants to send real-time video from his computer terminal to several sessions, irrespective of the kind of computer terminal, such as a handheld computer having an integrated mobile communication terminal, prior art does not allow this.
- Operating systems of today do not allow several applications to retrieve real-time image information from the same image camera at the same time.
- Software-based applications have been developed in order to enable video transmission to a plurality of users. The applications can be acquired through video capture cards to which several video cameras can be connected, but simultaneous access is not provided. That is a major drawback having the implication that a user is not able to access several sessions, like different electronic meetings at the same time.
- solutions presented in prior art are not independent of the video device being used, which independence is a requirement when producing software products for electronic meetings, due to the vast number of different image capturing means already available
- an apparatus and method for distribution of streamed signals between a group of different participating users in a computer network, the users accessing client terminals with multiple facilities for accessibility and participation in various media sessions comprising, image capturing means adapted to capture and transmit a streamed sig- nal within at least one established media session, the session defined by the users in a computer network having access to the signal stream, a first facility of the client terminal being associated with the media session, the facility having an established connection with the image capturing means for receiving the streamed signal sent out therefrom, characterised in that a second facility of the client terminal being adapted to send out a request within a common session, the request instructing the first facility of the client terminal to provide a copy to the second facility of the signal stream transmitted from the image capturing means, so as to allow the user access to multiple media sessions simultaneously.
- One advantage of the invention is that it allows several applications, such as client terminals operated by different users to share a single web camera, video camera or other image capturing device.
- utilising a software based operating system interface and a so-called host together with connections between the host, camera and client terminals makes it possible for each associated facility, i.e. activated program version, of a client terminal to receive a copy of the video stream originally provided to only one of the program instances of a certain client terminal.
- Due to the invention it is made possible to take part in several different media sessions simultaneously, preferably active participation in one session and simultaneous passive participation in the others. However, active participation in several sessions is also possible although there will be few applications initially.
- the Internet is used as a means for distribution of streamed media.
- Using the Internet is the optimal solution as long as it provides a reliable connection having sufficient transmission rates, but without associated problems with congestion of data in the network. Problems with digestion can be overcome, and it is of vital importance that consumers of streamed media can take part of a media event simultaneously and independently.
- the present invention al- lows this, and it does not lead to undesired overload within the computer networks with unnecessary amounts of raw data that could be compressed.
- the amount of data distributed through the network is re- prised, since the data stream sent as a copy from one client terminal to other associated client terminals can be compressed, as a result of which the total amount of data transmitted over the network is reduced.
- the real-time data stream transmitted directly from the image capturing means to the first receiving facility of the client terminal can be compressed only once and a copy of the compressed stream is transmitted to the other receiving facilities of the client terminal without having to included keys and related security information in order to decompress or decrypt the stream.
- Fig 1 illustrates a schematic overview of the apparatus for distribution of streamed image and audio signals according to the present invention.
- Fig 2 is a chart depicting the sequential flow during operation according to the present invention.
- FIG. 1 a schematic overview illustrates the apparatus for distribu- tion of streamed image and audio signals according to the present invention.
- a plurality of facilities 10, 20, 30 of a client terminal, each facility having its respective application protocol interface, API, 12, 22, 32, are connected to a so-called media session 50, 52, 54 via connecting links 14, 24, 34.
- the media session involves and connects any number of users having access to a signal stream providing interactive communication with each other via parts of a computer network. Any number of media sessions for simultaneous participation by users is possible by means of the present invention.
- the communication is by means of image or audio or a combination thereof.
- each facility of the client terminal is via a connecting link 36 connected to a common communication session 56, such as a multicast group. This common communication session may be locally allocated in the client terminal and each facility accesses the session continuously.
- the computer network is part of the Internet or any other global interconnecting network to which hosted participants have access.
- the connecting lines may be various wired connections, but likely for use already today or at least in a near future are also wireless transmission technologies, such as access technology based on infrared, Bluetooth or wireless-LAN. Connection means used in association with the present invention will be developing with new and emerging access technologies.
- Each facility of the client terminal is connectable to at least one image captur- ing means 60, preferably a so-called web-camera, a digital camera or a digital video camera.
- Each user has his own image capturing means, which means is coupled to the client terminal from which the user typically participates in a media session.
- the facilities of client terminals themselves arrange the distribution of a copy of the data stream within the media session. This is an autonomous function between fa- cilities of client terminals as soon as the participants in a certain media session have been defined. It is conceivable to have a distributing unit, such as an administered portal handling accessibility of users willing to participate in a certain media session. Necessary identification, authentication and authorisation of participants with a certain media session is carried out, but a detailed description of those steps clearly goes beyond the scope of this application and is therefore omitted here.
- the portal is seen by a potential participant willing to join a media event, and the portal is the place from where the media sessions are made accessible, or by which a so-called electronic meeting with a plurality of participants or a real-time multimedia event distributed to several users is made possible.
- the media session which is a defined number of users of an internal or external computer network, the users having access to a media session for authorised participants, is suitable for data transmission due to its scalability and flexibility.
- the media session includes users and their respective image capturing devices at different locations, why the Internet preferably can be used for transporting data between the client terminals of participating users.
- message transport limitations such as time-to-live parameters, must be adapted to the message distribution means in use.
- a parameter limiting the message transport to one specific client terminal such as time-to-live set to 0, may not be used when communication is to be established between different client terminals.
- a flow chart depicts the sequential flow of operational steps according to the present invention.
- the sequence starts (S10) with a first application 10 which in most cases is anyone of a plurality of facilities 10, 20, 30 of client terminals, opening (S20) the image capturing and transmitting device 60 using the standard application protocol interface of the operating system.
- a second facility 20, 30 of a client terminal will try to open (S20) the same device but this facility will fail, since the device is momentarily occupied by sending raw data to the first facility 10.
- Image capturing devices and operating systems described in prior art are not adapted to send out the data stream to a larger number of facilities of client terminals, and hence the first facility of the client terminal blocks transmission of the raw data stream to other users or potential media consumers.
- the second facility of the client terminal which is either of the at least one associated facilities 20, 30 within the defined media session 50, 52, 54 will then transmit (S50) a message using IP-multicast within the host.
- S50 a message using IP-multicast within the host.
- the message will be distributed just within the common communication session 56 and the first facility 10 of the client terminal, which has established a data stream connection with the image capturing means, will receive this common communication session internal message.
- the message contains a request for a copy of the video stream as well as the name of the device and the name of the port on the device (video capture hardware usually have several input ports for different types of hardware connections).
- the second facility of the client terminal opens a suitable socket and the first facility is able to send (S80) a copy of the video stream to the second facility.
- the second facility then continuously (e.g. every 10 seconds) transmits (S50) a message to the first facility that it still wants a copy of the stream and as soon as these messages stop coming, the first facility will stop serving the second facility.
- a third facility of the client terminal 20, 30, which is not previously involved in transmission also wants a copy
- the procedure will be equal as for the second facility, and the first facility of the client terminal will then send a copy to both the second and third facility of the client terminal.
- Time-to-live is a widespread way of determining and limiting how far IP- multicast messages should reach in a computer network.
- TTL set to 0 means that messages should not leave the host.
- TTL set to 1 means that a message should not leave the local network, i.e. should do not go past the first router. If the first facility of the client terminal should stop sending for any reason, by user interaction or program failure, the thereupon depending clients will detect this by interpreting the absence of messages sent from the first facility of the client terminal to a cease in sending. Moreover, it will also explicitly notice that the data stream has stopped.
- the second and third facilities of the client terminal will both try to open the image capturing device and randomness decides who will first establish the connection with the video camera or web camera.
- the third facility of the client terminal establishes the connection first, it will become the new server.
- the second facility of the client terminal that did not first manage to open the device will proceed with a client request to the third facility as before.
- the data stream can also be sent between the first facility and the second facility of the client terminal in encoded form, i.e. the raw video stream is transferred into a form needing lower bandwidth.
- the first facility for example is encoding into the M-JPEG format
- the encoded stream can be sent to the second and third facilities of the client terminal instead of the raw data stream.
- This M-JPEG signal format is used in a first em- bodiment of the present invention.
- an alternative embodiment of the invention instead of sending an encoded copy to the facilities of the client terminal it is possible to let the server send the stream directly to its destination. This would save processing capacity in the cli- ent terminal but instead requires sharing of logic between the client and server to a greater extent. For instance if the client terminal wants to encrypt the outgoing stream it has to share its cryptographic information with the server which must be dealt with in order to maintain the security of the application. In the case of using unicast data streams towards a unicast reflector together with a firewall where the traffic has to come from a certain port, additional information must be provided to involved units, in order to pass security arrangements without disturbances. Even though the best mode of the present invention is more flexible and does not require these mentioned additional features, the alternative embodiment could be used in certain situations when there is shortage of for example processing capacity.
- the present invention is applicable in various contexts as long as sharing a video device is desirable.
- the software is developed in parallel with the apparatus for distribution of signals.
- the software resides in a memory associated with said apparatus.
- the software is designed for instructing the hardware to carry out the sequential method steps described with reference to Fig 2.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Multimedia (AREA)
- Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
- Signal Processing (AREA)
- Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
- General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
- Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)
- Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)
- Information Transfer Between Computers (AREA)
- Small-Scale Networks (AREA)
- Computer And Data Communications (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (5)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP03723603A EP1506658B1 (en) | 2002-05-08 | 2003-05-08 | Apparatus and method for distribution of streamed real-time information between clients |
DE60320099T DE60320099T2 (en) | 2002-05-08 | 2003-05-08 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTING STREAMED REAL-TIME INFORMATION BETWEEN CLIENTS |
CA2484728A CA2484728C (en) | 2002-05-08 | 2003-05-08 | Apparatus and method for distribution of streamed real-time information between clients |
US10/513,464 US20050188011A1 (en) | 2002-05-08 | 2003-05-08 | Apparatus and method for distribution of streamed real-time information between clients |
AU2003230531A AU2003230531A1 (en) | 2002-05-08 | 2003-05-08 | Apparatus and method for distribution of streamed real-time information between clients |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
SE0201426A SE524989C2 (en) | 2002-05-08 | 2002-05-08 | Device and method for distributing flowing real-time information between clients |
SE0201426-4 | 2002-08-05 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2003096649A1 true WO2003096649A1 (en) | 2003-11-20 |
Family
ID=20287836
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/SE2003/000745 WO2003096649A1 (en) | 2002-05-08 | 2003-05-08 | Apparatus and method for distribution of streamed real-time information between clients |
Country Status (8)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20050188011A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1506658B1 (en) |
AT (1) | ATE391382T1 (en) |
AU (1) | AU2003230531A1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2484728C (en) |
DE (1) | DE60320099T2 (en) |
SE (1) | SE524989C2 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2003096649A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7555291B2 (en) * | 2005-08-26 | 2009-06-30 | Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ab | Mobile wireless communication terminals, systems, methods, and computer program products for providing a song play list |
US20070157226A1 (en) * | 2005-12-21 | 2007-07-05 | Raghavendra Misra | Segmentation and communication of live-action sporting event data apparatus and method |
US20070282905A1 (en) * | 2006-06-06 | 2007-12-06 | Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ab | Communication terminals and methods for prioritizing the playback of distributed multimedia files |
CN101123527B (en) * | 2007-02-25 | 2010-10-27 | 华为技术有限公司 | A stream media system, signaling forward device and stream media transmission method |
US20100054519A1 (en) * | 2008-09-03 | 2010-03-04 | Mulvey James P | Audio Communication System |
JP6039915B2 (en) * | 2011-07-08 | 2016-12-07 | 株式会社ドワンゴ | Stage presentation system, presentation control subsystem, operation method of stage presentation system, operation method of presentation control subsystem, and program |
CN106686391A (en) * | 2016-12-15 | 2017-05-17 | 广州术医传承信息科技有限公司 | Medical interaction live video method and system |
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WO2000064100A1 (en) * | 1999-04-15 | 2000-10-26 | Nortel Networks Corporation | Method and apparatus for forwarding multicast data |
WO2000073758A1 (en) * | 1999-05-26 | 2000-12-07 | Enounce, Incorporated | Method and apparatus for user-time-alignment for broadcast works |
WO2001069398A1 (en) * | 2000-03-13 | 2001-09-20 | Yahoo ! | Transmission of multicast media between networks |
US20010052008A1 (en) * | 2000-03-28 | 2001-12-13 | Jacobus Charles J. | Distributed computing environment |
US20020023166A1 (en) * | 2000-04-11 | 2002-02-21 | Amotz Bar-Noy | Method for stream merging |
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US6333750B1 (en) * | 1997-03-12 | 2001-12-25 | Cybex Computer Products Corporation | Multi-sourced video distribution hub |
US6785704B1 (en) * | 1999-12-20 | 2004-08-31 | Fastforward Networks | Content distribution system for operation over an internetwork including content peering arrangements |
EP1252577A1 (en) * | 2000-01-28 | 2002-10-30 | Ibeam Broadcasting Corporation | A system and method for determining optimal server in a distributed network for serving content streams |
JP3793941B2 (en) * | 2000-02-24 | 2006-07-05 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Video server device and video delivery method thereof in video delivery system |
WO2002009060A2 (en) * | 2000-07-26 | 2002-01-31 | Livewave, Inc. | Methods and systems for networked camera control |
US6978306B2 (en) * | 2000-08-10 | 2005-12-20 | Pts Corporation | Multi-tier video delivery network |
JP2002073541A (en) * | 2000-08-31 | 2002-03-12 | Sony Corp | Contents distributing method and contents supply system |
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2002
- 2002-05-08 SE SE0201426A patent/SE524989C2/en unknown
-
2003
- 2003-05-08 DE DE60320099T patent/DE60320099T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2003-05-08 WO PCT/SE2003/000745 patent/WO2003096649A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2003-05-08 EP EP03723603A patent/EP1506658B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2003-05-08 US US10/513,464 patent/US20050188011A1/en active Pending
- 2003-05-08 AU AU2003230531A patent/AU2003230531A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2003-05-08 CA CA2484728A patent/CA2484728C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2003-05-08 AT AT03723603T patent/ATE391382T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Patent Citations (5)
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WO2000064100A1 (en) * | 1999-04-15 | 2000-10-26 | Nortel Networks Corporation | Method and apparatus for forwarding multicast data |
WO2000073758A1 (en) * | 1999-05-26 | 2000-12-07 | Enounce, Incorporated | Method and apparatus for user-time-alignment for broadcast works |
WO2001069398A1 (en) * | 2000-03-13 | 2001-09-20 | Yahoo ! | Transmission of multicast media between networks |
US20010052008A1 (en) * | 2000-03-28 | 2001-12-13 | Jacobus Charles J. | Distributed computing environment |
US20020023166A1 (en) * | 2000-04-11 | 2002-02-21 | Amotz Bar-Noy | Method for stream merging |
Non-Patent Citations (2)
Title |
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"Department of Microelectronics and Information Technology, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm", May 2001, article "Asa: streaming: Past. present and future. An investigation into the synchronized multimedia integration language 2.0 (SMIL 2.0)", pages: 8-18, 21 - 23, XP002904981 * |
"W3C Working Draft", 21 September 2000, article "Synchronized multimedia integration language (SMIL 2.0) specification", pages: 1 - 83, XP002904982 * |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CA2484728C (en) | 2012-12-18 |
DE60320099T2 (en) | 2009-06-18 |
SE0201426D0 (en) | 2002-05-08 |
CA2484728A1 (en) | 2003-11-20 |
SE0201426L (en) | 2003-11-09 |
EP1506658B1 (en) | 2008-04-02 |
EP1506658A1 (en) | 2005-02-16 |
ATE391382T1 (en) | 2008-04-15 |
AU2003230531A1 (en) | 2003-11-11 |
DE60320099D1 (en) | 2008-05-15 |
US20050188011A1 (en) | 2005-08-25 |
SE524989C2 (en) | 2004-11-09 |
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