WO2012010047A1

WO2012010047A1 - Management method for set top box application and set top box

Info

Publication number: WO2012010047A1
Application number: PCT/CN2011/076633
Authority: WO
Inventors: 林延福; 秦小庆; 许春晓
Original assignee: 华为终端有限公司
Priority date: 2010-07-20
Filing date: 2011-06-30
Publication date: 2012-01-26
Also published as: CN102149017A

Abstract

A management method for a set top box application and a set top box are provided in the present invention, which belong to the set top box technical field and realize that a head end system remotely manages an application in a set top box. The method includes: receiving an application management message sent by the head end system (101); parsing the application management message to obtain an application identity, management flag and execution time (102); and while the execution time arrives, executing a management operation indicated by the management flag on the application corresponding to the application identity (103). When an application installed in a set top box needs to be managed by an operator, according to the application management message sent by the head end system, the remote management for the application in the set top box can be realized, and the problem that the head end system can not remotely manage the application in the set top in the prior art can be solved.

Description

Set-top box application management method and set-top box

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the field of set top box technologies, and in particular, to a method for managing a set top box application and a set top box.

Background technique

With the continuous development of digital TV technology, users can not only receive basic digital programs by means of set-top boxes, but also enjoy some special application services, such as video on demand, video on demand, electronic program menu, data broadcasting, PVR, Internet access. Information browsing, games, and more. When users receive digital programs or broadcast services, they need to be authorized by the operator before they can watch. At this time, the operator needs to use the head-end system CAS (Conditional System) to control the user's reception of the broadcast service or program, and perform authorization control and authorization management for the user, so that the user can only watch. Authorized broadcast services or programs to enable paid services and personalized services for data broadcasting systems.

The prior art mainly authorizes the playback of digital programs through the cooperation of the CAS headend system and the set top box smart card. On the side of the headend system, using the scrambling control word encryption transmission method, the control words encrypted by the service key (SK) are transmitted in the authorization control information (ECMs), including the program source, time, content classification and Program information such as program price. The service key encrypted for the control word is transmitted in the authorization management information (E s), and the service key is subjected to encryption processing by the user's personal distribution key (PDK) before being transmitted. The authorization management information also includes user authorization information such as a smart card number, an authorization time, and an authorization level, such as a program or a time period that the user can watch, a viewing fee paid by the user, etc., and the information is mainly to complete authorization for the user. On the smart card side, the user's personal distribution key is stored in the user's smart card. After the set-top box filters out the authorization control information and the authorization management information from the transport stream, it is transmitted to the smart card through the smart card interface. The smart card first reads the user's personal distribution key (PDK), decrypts the authorization management information with the PDK, extracts the service key SK, and then uses the SK to decrypt the authorization control information, extracts the control word, and sends it to the descrambling through the smart card interface. The engine, which the descrambling engine can use to descramble the scrambled transport stream. However, the inventors have found that the headend system in the prior art can perform basic configuration and management of the set top box to realize authorization control of the digital program, and the application on the set top box can only be managed locally by the user, for example, the user downloads a certain Once the application is launched, the application can be launched and used, and the headend system cannot implement unified remote management of the application on the set-top box. Summary of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a management method for a set top box application and a set top box, which enables the head end system to remotely manage applications on the set top box.

In order to achieve the above object, the embodiment of the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

A management method for a set top box application, comprising:

Receiving an application management message sent by the head end system;

Parsing the application management message to obtain an application identifier, a management flag bit, and an execution time; a management operation indicated by the flag bit.

A set top box, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive an application management message sent by the head end system;

a parsing unit, configured to parse the application management message to obtain an application identifier, a management flag bit, and an execution time;

And a management unit, configured to perform, when the execution time arrives, a management operation indicated by the management flag bit on an application corresponding to the application identifier.

The management method of the set top box application provided by the embodiment of the present invention receives an application management message sent by the head end system, and obtains an application identifier, a management flag bit, and an execution time by parsing the application management message. When the execution time arrives, A management operation of the management flag indication is performed on an application corresponding to the application identifier. Therefore, the head end system can remotely manage the application on the set top box by applying the management message, which solves the problem that the head end system cannot remotely manage the application on the set top box in the prior art. DRAWINGS In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings may be obtained based on these drawings without paying for creative labor.

1 is a flowchart of a method for managing a set top box application according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a set top box according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a structural diagram of another set top box according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of still another set top box according to an embodiment of the present invention. detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a management method of a set top box application and a set top box. The set top box adopting the method can receive an application management message sent by the head end system, and obtain an application identifier, a management flag bit, and an execution time by parsing the application management message. When the execution time arrives, the management operation indicated by the management flag bit is performed on the application corresponding to the application identifier, so that the head end system remotely manages the application on the set top box. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments.

A method for managing a set top box application provided by the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes the following steps:

101. Receive an application management message sent by the head end system.

The application management message may adopt a message structure as shown in Table 1 below, including an application identifier, a management flag bit, and an execution time.

Table 1 Application identification management flag bit execution time

In a specific implementation process, the application management message may be included in a message body of the headend message and sent by the headend message. The structure of the headend message is shown in Table 2 below.

Table 2

The headend message includes: message type, broadcast type, set top box MAC address information, message length, and message body. Among them, the message type includes various headend message types, such as application management messages, set-top box configuration messages, restart messages, and the like. For example, when the value corresponding to the message type field of the headend message is an application management message, the message included in the message body of the headend message is an application management message.

Broadcast types include unicast, broadcast. Different broadcast types can be adopted depending on different needs. For example, a corresponding application management message may be generated according to a user's management request for the application, and sent to the user's set top box in a unicast manner.

The set-top box MAC address information uniquely identifies the identity of the set-top box. When the head-end system needs to control the application on a set-top box, it needs to specify the specific set-top box MAC in the head-end control message so that only the target set-top box has the right to process the message.

The message length indicates the actual size of the message body, not including the message field before the message length. The message body includes specific messages, such as application management information.

In a specific application, the head end system may carry the header message through the authorization management message (E) in the transport stream and deliver the message to the set top box. The set-top box first filters out the E-data from the transport stream and obtains the head-end message from it. Thereafter, it is first confirmed whether the received headend message is executed by the set top box according to the set top box MAC address information in the headend message. When the MAC address information of the set-top box in the headend message is consistent with the MAC address information of the set-top box, it is determined whether the message type of the header message is an application management message, and if yes, parsing from the message body of the header message Application management

102. Parse the application management message to obtain an application identifier, a management flag bit, and an execution time. The application identifier uniquely represents a specific application, and the application identifier may adopt a unique identifier. A numeric or string representation. The management flag is used to indicate the specific management operations to be performed, and may include activation, deactivation, deletion, and the like. The execution time refers to the time when the management operation indicated by the management flag bit is executed, for example, the function of activating an application is performed at a certain time point, or the application is activated immediately after the set top box receives the application management message.

1 03. When the execution time arrives, the management operation indicated by the management flag bit is performed on an application corresponding to the application identifier.

When the step is specifically executed, the application corresponding to the application identifier may have been preset on the set top box in advance. For example, the user downloads and installs the application on the set top box himself, or installs some applications (such as games or other special charging services) on the set top box during the production phase of the set top box, but the application is inactive when the set top box is shipped from the factory. The application, when the user purchases the set-top box, needs to use the application, first requests the operator to activate the application, and the operator sends an application management message to the set-top box through the head-end system according to the request of the user, and the application identifier in the message Corresponding to the application on the set top box described above, the operation indicated by the management flag bit is activated, and the execution time is a specified time point.

After receiving the application management message, the set-top box finds that the application corresponding to the application identifier already exists on the set-top box, and when the execution time is reached, directly performing the management operation of the management flag indication on the application corresponding to the application identifier. , that is, the application is activated directly.

It should be noted that the headend system can manage the existing applications on the set top box, but due to the limitations of the set top box resources, the applications that can be stored on the set top box are relatively limited. One possible application scenario is: The user sends a request to the headend system to activate an application, and the application is not saved on the user's set top box. At this time, when the set-top box receives the application management message sent by the head-end system, and finds that the application corresponding to the application identifier is not on the current set-top box, another implementation manner of the step may be found in the specific network. An application corresponding to the application identifier, for example, searching for an application corresponding to the application identifier in a signal transmission network (for example, HFC) of the set top box, and receiving and downloading the application, where the application is legally verified and loaded to the current On the set top box. This method can save the storage space of the set top box and enrich the application range of the set top box. The management method of the set top box application provided by the embodiment of the present invention receives an application management message sent by the head end system, and obtains an application identifier, a management flag bit, and an execution time by parsing the application management message. When the execution time arrives, A management operation of the management flag indication is performed on an application corresponding to the application identifier. Therefore, the head end system can remotely manage the application on the set top box by applying the management message, which solves the problem that the head end system cannot remotely manage the application on the set top box in the prior art.

In addition, since the method is applied to the application of the set top box, the application management message is sent by the head end system, and the application box management message is executed on the application side of the set top box, thereby reducing the complexity of the head end system, and also Reduce the cost of the set-top box.

A set top box is provided in the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the set top box comprising: a receiving unit 21, a parsing unit 22 and a management unit 23.

The receiving unit 21 is configured to receive an application management message sent by the head end system. The application management message can be included in the message body of the headend message and sent through the headend message.

The parsing unit 22 is configured to parse the application management message to obtain an application identifier, a management flag bit, and an execution time. The application identifier uniquely represents a specific application, and the application identifier may be represented by a unique number or a string. The management flag is used to indicate the specific management operations to be performed, and may include activation, deactivation, deletion, and the like. The execution time refers to the time at which the management operation indicated by the management flag bit is executed, for example, the function of activating an application is performed at a certain point in time.

The management unit 23 is configured to perform a management operation of the management flag bit indication on an application corresponding to the application identifier when the execution time arrives.

Further, when an application corresponding to the application identifier already exists on the current set top box, for example, the user downloads and installs the application on the set top box, or installs some applications on the set top box in the production stage of the set top box, as shown in FIG. The management unit includes: a first management module 23A.

The first management module 23A is configured to perform the management operation of the management flag indication directly on the application corresponding to the application identifier.

Further, when there is no application corresponding to the application identifier on the current set top box, as shown in FIG. 4, The management unit may further include: a lookup module 23B and a second management module 23C.

The searching module 23B is configured to find an application corresponding to the application identifier in a specific network. For example, an application corresponding to the application identifier is found in a signal transmission network (e.g., HFC) of the set top box. The second management module 23C is configured to load the searched application onto the current set top box, and perform a management operation indicated by the management flag bit on the searched application.

The set-top box provided by the embodiment of the present invention, by receiving an application management message sent by the head-end system, parsing the application management message to obtain an application identifier, a management flag bit, and an execution time, when the execution time arrives, The management operation of the management flag indication is performed on the application corresponding to the application identifier. Therefore, the head end system can remotely manage the application on the set top box through the application management message, which solves the problem that the head end system cannot remotely manage the application on the set top box in the prior art.

The embodiments of the present invention are mainly applied to a set top box, and the head end system can remotely manage applications on the set top box.

The serial numbers of the embodiments of the present invention are merely for the description, and do not represent the advantages and disadvantages of the embodiments.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented by means of software plus the necessary general hardware platform. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product in essence or in the form of a software product, and the computer software product may be stored in a storage medium, such as a ROM/RAM. A disk, an optical disk, or the like, includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform the methods described in various embodiments of the embodiments of the present invention.

The above specific embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements, etc., which are included in the present invention, should be included in the present invention without departing from the principles of the present invention. Within the scope of protection.

Claims

Claim

A management method for a set top box application, comprising:

Receiving an application management message sent by the head end system;

Parsing the application management message to obtain an application identifier, a management flag bit, and an execution time; when the execution time arrives, performing a management operation indicated by the management flag bit on an application corresponding to the application identifier.

The method for managing a set top box application according to claim 1, wherein the application identifier is represented by a number or a character string;

The management operations indicated by the management flag bit include: activating, deactivating, or deleting;

The execution time is a time at which the management operation indicated by the management flag bit is performed.

The method for managing a set top box application according to claim 1, wherein the application management message is included in a message body of the headend message, and is sent by the headend message.

The method for managing a set-top box application according to claim 3, wherein the header message is carried and delivered by the authorization management information in the transport stream.

The management method of the set-top box application according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the management operation of performing the management flag indication on the application corresponding to the application identifier comprises: When there is an application corresponding to the application identifier, the management operation indicated by the management flag bit is directly executed on the application corresponding to the application identifier.

The management method of the set-top box application according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the management operation of performing the management flag indication on the application corresponding to the application identifier comprises: When the application identifies the corresponding application, the application corresponding to the application identifier is found in a specific network;

Loading the found application onto the current set top box, and performing a management operation indicated by the management flag bit on the found application.

7. A set top box, comprising: a receiving unit, configured to receive an application management message sent by the head end system;

a management unit, configured to: when the execution time arrives, perform a management operation indicated by the management flag bit on an application corresponding to the application identifier.

The set-top box according to claim 7, wherein the management unit comprises: a first management module, configured to directly interact with the application identifier when an application corresponding to the application identifier already exists on the current set top box The management operation of the management flag indication is performed on the corresponding application.

The set-top box according to claim 7, wherein the management unit comprises: a searching module, configured to find and identify the application identifier in a specific network when the application corresponding to the application identifier is not on the current set top box Corresponding application;

And a second management module, configured to load the searched application onto the current set top box, and perform a management operation indicated by the management flag bit on the searched application.