WO2013133466A1

WO2013133466A1 - Advertisement provision in video on demand

Info

Publication number: WO2013133466A1
Application number: PCT/KR2012/001803
Authority: WO
Inventors: 김승학
Original assignee: 주식회사 캐스트이즈
Priority date: 2012-03-09
Filing date: 2012-03-13
Publication date: 2013-09-12

Abstract

Disclosed in the present specification is a content reception device for providing an advertisement in a video-on-demand system, comprising: an input unit for receiving a user's input signal; a communication unit for receiving content, an advertisement, and advertisement management information from a server; an output unit for playing the content and the advertisement; and a control unit for controlling the playing of the advertisement and the content according to the input signal and an advertisement control signal included in the advertisement management information, wherein the advertisement control signal includes a skipping signal, the control unit determines whether the input signal corresponds to the skipping signal, and if it is determined that the input signal corresponds to the skipping signal as a result of the determination, the control unit transmits a skipping request to the server, stops the playing of the advertisement according to a response for the skipping request, and plays the content.

Description

Serve advertising on demand video

This specification relates to the provision of advertisements on demand video.

Video-on-demand (hereinafter referred to as VOD service) is a multimedia service that provides subscribers with stored content at the request of a user. As on-demand video content is widely used, various methods for associating broadcast content with advertisements are provided. Various methods have been suggested to effectively promote products or services through advertisements. For example, a method for exposing advertisement content based on characteristics such as subscriber's residence, gender, past VOD service usage history, and information on currently viewed content for each video content has been proposed. In addition, when a subscriber of the VOD service receives an input for requesting additional information while watching an advertisement, an interactive advertisement in a form in which additional information about a product targeted for the advertisement is provided to the receiving apparatus of the VOD service has been proposed.

In general, the VOD service system prohibits the subscriber from skipping or skipping advertising content or fast forward (FF). However, subscribers of VOD services tend to watch on-demand video content by bypassing the advertisement content, unlike viewers of traditional broadcasting programs. Similar to the VOD service, Tivo's initial Digital Video Recorder (DVR) provides a time shift feature that allows you to record a program that is broadcast in real time and then watch it at different times. This provides the ability to skip an ad or fast forward it. In addition, International Patent Application WO 01/35405 discloses a function in which a DVR detects a scene change portion of MPEG video data to identify an advertisement portion, remove an advertisement portion, and record a broadcast program.

Such limitation of exposure of advertising content to paying subscribers of video content is a factor that inhibits active participation of advertisers in broadcasting service and contents distribution. Therefore, there is a demand for a method that can consume video content on demand while effectively exposing advertisement content to a viewer in a VOD system.

The present specification provides a method and apparatus for effectively exposing advertisement content to a viewer.

In addition, the present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for stopping the reproduction of the advertising content when the viewer receives the promotional content of the advertising content using another medium or actively accepts the promotional content.

The present disclosure also provides a method and apparatus for providing a function of skipping or quickly passing an advertisement in an on-demand video system. In addition, the present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for providing a function of skipping or quickly passing an advertisement for a start advertisement and an intermediate advertisement in an on-demand video system.

On the other hand, the present specification proposes a method and apparatus for determining advertisement according to the characteristics of each subscriber applicable to the video on demand system.

In one embodiment, a content receiving apparatus for providing an advertisement in an on-demand video system is disclosed. The content receiving device includes an input unit for receiving an input signal of a user; A communication unit configured to receive content, advertisement, and advertisement management information from a server; An output unit for playing the content and the advertisement; And a control unit controlling reproduction of the advertisement and the content according to the input signal and the advertisement control signal included in the advertisement management information, wherein the advertisement control signal includes a skip signal, and the controller controls the input signal. Determines whether is corresponding to the skip signal, and if it is determined that it corresponds to the skip signal, transmit a skip request to the server, and play the advertisement according to a response to the skip request. Stop and play the content.

The one embodiment or the other embodiments include any of the following features.

The skip request may be a request that the server stop the transmission of the advertisement and start the transmission of the content.

The controller may control the output unit to output input information indicating that the advertisement control signal may be input together with the reproduced advertisement. In addition, the input information may be expressed in a visual form included in the output screen of the advertisement. In addition, the visual form may be expressed as a text or graphic object, and may include numbers, letters, symbols, figures, images, icons, avatars, or videos. In addition, the input information may be a name of a product, a service, an individual or a company, a telephone number, other contact information, or promotional text. In addition, the input information may be included as part of the content of the advertisement.

In addition, the input information may be expressed in an auditory form.

The advertisement control signal may include a fast forward signal, and when the input signal is determined to correspond to the fast movement signal, the advertisement is quickly played and the reproduction of the advertisement is terminated. The content can then be played back.

Meanwhile, as another embodiment, a method of providing an advertisement of a content receiving device in a video on demand system is disclosed. The advertisement providing method includes receiving advertisements and advertisement management information from a server; Playing the advertisement; Receiving an input signal before the reproduction of the advertisement is finished; Determining whether the input signal corresponds to a skip signal included in the advertisement management information; Transmitting a skip request to the server when it is determined to correspond to the skip signal; Receiving a response to the skip request; Stopping playback of the advertisement in response to the response; And receiving video content from the server.

The other or other embodiments may include any of the following features.

Reproducing input information with the advertisement, wherein the input information may indicate that the skip signal can be input. In addition, the input information is represented in a visual form included in the output screen of the advertisement, the visual form is represented by a text or graphic object, and numbers, letters, symbols, figures, images, icons, avatars or videos It may include. In addition, the input information may be expressed in an auditory form. In addition, the input information may be a name of a product, a service, an individual or a company, a telephone number, other contact information, or promotional text.

Meanwhile, as another embodiment, a method of providing an advertisement of a content server in an on-demand video system is disclosed. The advertisement providing method may include receiving a request for playing video content; Determining an advertisement associated with the video content; Transmitting management information of the advertisement to a receiving device; Starting to send the advertisement to the receiving device; Receiving a skip request for the advertisement; Determining whether an input signal included in the skip request corresponds to a skip signal; Transmitting a message associated with the advertisement to a message receiving device of a subscriber of the receiving device when the input signal corresponds to the skip signal as a result of the determination; And starting to transmit the video content to a receiving device according to the transmission result of the message.

The other or other embodiments may include any of the following features.

The message receiving device may include any one of a mobile phone, a mail server, and a message storage server. In addition, the transmitting of the message may include requesting an advertisement server to transmit a message associated with the advertisement; And receiving the transmission result of the message from the advertisement server. In addition, the advertisement server may obtain the information of the message receiving device from the content server or subscriber information storage server.

According to the method and apparatus for providing advertisement contents disclosed herein, the advertisement contents included in the advertisement contents may be effectively delivered by stopping the reproduction of the advertisement contents and providing a message associated with them.

On the other hand, according to the method and apparatus for providing advertisement content disclosed in the present specification, if the promotion content of the advertisement content is actively received, the advertisement content may be stopped so that the promotion content is effectively delivered.

1 is a block diagram of an example video on demand system in which the techniques disclosed herein may be employed.

2 is a block diagram of an exemplary receiving apparatus in which the techniques disclosed herein may be employed.

3 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a VOD system for providing advertising in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein.

4 illustrates an example in which input information is displayed in the form of a letter or an icon.

5 illustrates an example in which input information is displayed in the form of a letter or an icon and generates an input signal by a touch method.

6 to 8 illustrate examples of input information output to receive an input signal associated with a promotion target of advertisement content.

9 illustrates a method for providing advertisement content in a VOD system according to embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example in which the advertisement providing method illustrated in FIG. 9 is extended.

11 illustrates an advertisement determining method that may be applied to the embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example in which the advertisement content providing method of FIG. 9 is applied to an intermediate advertisement provided during video content reproduction.

13 illustrates another embodiment of a method for providing advertisement content in a VOD system.

14 illustrates a method of transmitting an advertisement association message that can be applied to the embodiments disclosed herein.

15 illustrates an example in which a content server determines whether an input signal corresponds to an advertisement skip signal in a method of providing advertisement content.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example in which the advertisement content providing method of FIG. 15 is applied to an intermediate advertisement provided during video content reproduction.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example in which the advertisement content providing method of FIG. 15 is modified to transmit an associated advertisement message through a separate medium.

18 illustrates an advertisement transmission method that may be applied to the embodiments disclosed herein.

19 illustrates a video content transmission method that may be applied to a VOD system using pre-stored advertisement content.

The technology disclosed herein applies to video-on-demand services. However, the technology disclosed herein is not limited thereto, and all video / audio content distribution devices and methods, broadcast methods and devices, advertisement providing methods and devices, and other content management methods and devices to which the technical spirit of the technology may be applied are applicable. Can be applied.

It is to be noted that the technical terms used herein are merely used to describe particular embodiments and are not intended to limit the spirit of the technology disclosed herein. In addition, the technical terms used herein should be construed as meanings generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the technology disclosed herein belongs, unless defined otherwise in this specification. It should not be interpreted in a comprehensive sense, or in an overly reduced sense. In addition, when the technical terms used herein are incorrect technical terms that do not accurately express the spirit of the technology disclosed herein, it should be replaced with technical terms that can be understood correctly by those skilled in the art. In addition, the general terms used herein should be interpreted as defined in the dictionary, or according to the context before and after, and should not be interpreted in an excessively reduced sense.

Also, the singular forms used herein include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as “consisting of” or “comprising” should not be construed as necessarily including all of the various components or steps described in the specification, and some of the components or some steps It should be construed that it may not be included or may further include additional components or steps.

In addition, the suffixes "module" and "unit" for the components used herein are given or mixed in consideration of ease of specification, and do not have meanings or roles that are distinguished from each other.

In addition, terms including ordinal numbers, such as first and second, as used herein may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments disclosed herein will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the same or similar components will be given the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, in describing the technology disclosed herein, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the technology disclosed herein, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, it is to be noted that the accompanying drawings are only for easily understanding the spirit of the technology disclosed in this specification, and the spirit of the technology should not be construed as being limited by the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary video-on-demand system includes a receiving device 100, a content server 200, a management server 300, and an advertisement server 400.

The receiving device 100 is a device for a subscriber to consume video content. The reception device 100 performs a function of receiving video content from the content server 200, consuming the received content, and communicating with the management server 300. The subscriber represents a person who is authorized to receive the on-demand content by completing the subscription procedure to the VOD service, and since the subscriber consumes the on-demand content by using the receiving device 100, the term 'subscriber' is referred to below. May be used interchangeably with a user of the receiving apparatus 100 or a viewer of the on-demand content. In addition, although the content of the VOD service represents video content, the video content may not only mean content consisting of images but also various types of on-demand content such as multimedia content in which various types of media are combined.

The receiving device 100 may be implemented in various device types capable of receiving and consuming video content. For example, the receiving device 100 may be implemented in various forms such as a personal computer, a tablet, a mobile terminal, a TV, a set-top box, and the like.

Entities of the video on demand system are connected via a network. The network connecting the entities may be implemented according to various existing wired and wireless communication schemes. For example, the network may be in the form of a cable transport network including a coaxial cable or a wired data network. It may be in the form of an Internet Protocol (IP) based network or in the form of a network via satellite. In addition, the network includes various types of network types, such as an access network and a backbone network, and may be configured to perform data transmission using heterogeneous protocols.

The content server 200 is a device for distributing content to the receiving device 100. The content distributed by the content server 200 may include not only video-on-demand content that the subscriber intends to consume but also advertisement content for promotional purposes.

The content server 200 may be implemented with one or more network servers. When the content server 200 is implemented in the form of one or more content distribution servers, the content server 200 may be configured to include a session management server for one or more content distribution servers. The session management server may determine one or more content servers for transmitting content to the receiving device 100 among the one or more content distribution servers. The session management server is a server that performs a management function of allocating and changing resources used for content distribution. The session management server may operate independently from the one or more content distribution servers or may be implemented as part of the reception device. A session between 100 and the content distribution server may be established and released. When the session management server receives a content transmission request from the reception apparatus 100, the session management server checks a resource state such as a service state or a frequency band of the content distribution servers, and distributes content based on the resource state and a distribution policy. Determining servers to participate in, and transmits the information about the determined server to the receiving device 100 to enable the receiving device 100 to receive video content from the determined content distribution server.

The management server 300 controls the receiving device 100 and the content server 200 to distribute content to subscribers of an on-demand video service and perform functions such as subscriber authentication, content channel change, and additional service management. Device. The management server 300 may be called a headend access system (HAS). The management server 300 may provide necessary information for application programs executed for the VOD service in the receiving device 100.

On the other hand, the management server 300 performs a function for managing information such as subscriber subscription, termination. In addition, the management server 300 may store the information of the subscriber in a built-in storage, or may be implemented in the form of a separate device in the rights management server for managing the information of the customer. Thereafter, the management server 300 may perform an authentication procedure for the subscriber based on the stored subscriber information.

The advertisement server 400 is a device for managing advertisement content, advertisement additional information, and advertisement management information for a VOD service under the control of the management server 300. The advertisement server 400 may include a function of transmitting a message associated with the advertisement content so that the advertisement contents of the advertisement content can be effectively delivered to the subscriber of the receiving device 100.

The content server 200, the management server 300, and the advertisement server 400 may be implemented in the form of servers that operate independently of each other, or one server or a server set in which one or more servers are combined. It can be implemented in the form of. Hereinafter, in the present specification, the content server 200, the management server 300, and the advertisement server 400 communicating with the reception device 100 may be represented in the form of a single server.

2, the receiving device 100 may be configured to include a communication unit 110, a video / audio decoder 120, an interface unit 130, a storage unit 140, and a controller 180.

The communication unit 110 may include a content receiving module 111 for receiving video content from the content server through a network, and a management channel module 112 for transmitting and receiving management commands such as purchase and consumption of video content from the management server. It may be configured to include.

The content receiving module 111 may be implemented to receive content using a broadcast protocol. In addition, the content receiving module 111 may be implemented to support content distribution based on an IP network. For example, the content receiving module 111 may receive content by a multicast method or a unicast method through the IP network.

The management channel module 112 is a module that transmits and receives a management command through a bandwidth other than a bandwidth for content distribution or a separate communication channel. The management channel module 112 may communicate with the management server 300 using a channel such as a return path on the network. In addition, the management channel module 112 may communicate with the management server 300 by a separate point-to-point method or a unicast method. The management channel module 112 also transmits and receives commands for managing content distribution that conforms to the Digital Video Broadcasting Multimedia Home Platform (DVB-MHP), Advanced Common Application Platform (ACAP) or Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP) standards. Can be implemented.

The video / audio decoder 120 performs a function of decompressing the video content received through the content receiving module 111 so as to consume the video content and recognizing the frame.

The interface unit 130 is a connection circuit for input / output and auxiliary modules attached to the external device of the receiving device 100 or the receiving device 100 itself. The interface unit 130 may include an output unit 131 and an input unit 136. The output unit 131 may be configured to include an audio output unit 132 and a video output unit 134. The audio output unit 132 and the video output unit 134 may be a speaker 133 and It may be connected to the display 135. The input unit 136 is a module that receives a user input signal through the input module 137, the input module 137 may be a remote control, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad or an input button, the input signal is a key It may be a signal in the form of an input, a touch input, or an input through a virtual keyboard.

The storage unit 140 may store information necessary for the operation of the receiving device 100. The storage unit 140 may store various software components or data. The storage 140 may be implemented by being divided into a volatile memory 141 and a nonvolatile memory 142 according to whether a storage function is maintained according to power supply. The storage unit 140 may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EPEROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), and magnetic memory. , Magnetic disk, optical disk, flash memory type, hard disk type, multimedia card micro type, card type memory (e.g. SD or xD memory, etc.) It may include at least one type of storage medium. In addition, the storage 140 may be in the form of a module for using a storage function provided by a network storage or a cloud service connected through the communication unit 110.

An operating system (OS) 143, applications 144, and an electronic program guide (EPG) 145 may be stored in the storage 140.

The operating system 143 (e.g., LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, Chrome, Symbian, WinCE, Windows Mobile, iOS, Android, Bada, VxWorks, pSOS or other embedded operating systems) may be memory management, power management And various software components and / or drivers for controlling system tasks, and the like.

The application 144 may be various VOD service applications running on the operating system 143. The application program 144 may include, for example, a program that provides a movie recommendation, guide announcement, and help function. In addition, the application program 144 may include an application program for executing the additional service. The application program 144 may include, for example, a program that performs an additional service of performing subscriber authentication, adult authentication, box office inquiry, or viewing history inquiry. In addition, the application 144 may include an application for providing a VOD service without interruption. The application program 144 may include, for example, a program that performs a function of requesting a backup content server again from the backup content server when a failure occurs in the content server in service.

The EPG 145 is an interface output on the screen through the video output unit 134 and corresponds to a program that visually shows a viewer a list of contents and a menu of a VOD service. The EPG 145 may perform an interface function that shows an execution result of the application program 144.

The controller 180 controls the components of the receiving apparatus 100 to perform the methods disclosed herein as an example. The controller 180 may be configured to execute software components stored in the memory 140.

The VOD system according to the exemplary embodiment disclosed herein enables the reception apparatus 100 to play advertisement content, and stop playing the advertisement content and play the on-demand content when a predetermined condition is met. Specifically, when the receiving device 100 in the VOD system may separately transmit a related message for substituting the advertisement content to the subscriber or determine that the advertisement content is sufficiently delivered to the subscriber in view of the subscriber's input signal. The operation of stopping the reproduction of the advertisement content may be performed.

To this end, the reception apparatus 100 may output input information indicating that the advertisement content may be interrupted according to the input of the subscriber together with the advertisement content. The input information may be output together with the advertisement content visually or audibly.

The receiving device 100 according to the embodiments disclosed herein is a video receiving device that provides an advertisement to a subscriber in a VOD system. Referring to FIG. 3, the receiving device 100 may be configured to include a communication unit 110, an output unit 131, an input unit 135, and a controller 180.

The communication unit 110 receives video content, advertisement content, and advertisement management information from a server. As described above, the server may be configured as one server without being divided into the content server 200, the management server 300, or the advertisement server 400.

The advertisement content may be data for promotion, and may be multimedia data that may be reproduced in the form of voice, video, text, or a combination thereof, or executable data in the form of an application or applet that may be executed on an operating system of the receiving device 100. have. The advertisement content may include advertisement additional information such as a genre, an advertiser, a product name, and the like. For example, when the advertisement content is in the form of playable data, it may be received from the content server 200 through the same channel as the video content. In this case, the video content and the advertisement content may be delivered using the same session or in a continuous streaming method. When the advertisement content is executable data having a different characteristic from the video content, the advertisement content may be received from the management server 300 or the advertisement server 400 different from the content server 200.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the content server 200 of the receiving apparatus 100 may request to play the video content and then receive the advertisement content. According to another embodiment, the receiving device 100 may receive and store the video content in advance regardless of requesting to play the video content.

The advertisement management information may include an indicator indicating that an advertisement skip or an FF function may be performed on the advertisement content. In addition, the advertisement management information may include an advertisement control signal corresponding to the indicator. The advertisement control signal corresponds to a condition for the subscriber to perform the advertisement skipping or the FF function through the input unit 135. In addition, the advertisement management information may include input information for informing the user to input the advertisement control signal. The advertisement management information may be transmitted using a session for transmitting the advertisement content or may be transmitted using a separate session.

The output unit 131 plays the video content and the advertisement content. When the advertisement content is executable data, the output unit 131 may reproduce the advertisement content by a method of outputting a screen on which the advertisement content is executed.

The input unit 135 receives an input signal from the subscriber. The input signal is received through an input module connected to the input unit 135.

The controller 180 controls the operations of the components of the reception apparatus 100, that is, the communication unit 110, the output unit 131, and the input unit 135.

In some embodiments, the controller 180 may determine whether the input signal corresponds to an advertisement control signal included in the advertisement management information. If it is determined that the input signal corresponds to the advertisement control signal, the controller 180 may change the playing state of the advertisement content according to the advertisement control signal. Also, in other embodiments, the controller 180 may transmit the input signal to a server and change the playing state of the advertisement content according to a result of the server's determination as to whether the input signal corresponds to the advertisement control signal. have.

The advertisement control signal may be a fast forward (FF) signal or a skipping signal. The fast moving signal is a control signal for speeding up the playback speed for the part after the current playback time of the advertisement content. In addition, the skip signal is a control signal for omitting playback of a part after the current playback point of the advertisement content.

In some embodiments, when it is determined that the input signal corresponds to the skip signal, the controller 180 may stop playing the advertisement content. In addition, the controller 180 may transmit a message for the skip request to the server. The server receiving the skip request may stop the transmission of the advertisement content and may start the transmission of the video content. In another embodiment, if the input signal included in the skip request corresponds to the skip signal, the controller 180 may stop the transmission of the advertisement content in response to the skip request.

The controller 180 may output input information indicating that the advertisement control signal may be input together with the advertisement content. The input information is for notifying that a skipping or fast moving function may be performed before the reproduction of the advertisement content is completed according to the input of the subscriber, and the input signal corresponding to the advertisement control signal may be input to the input unit ( 136 to be received through.

The controller 180 may output the input information visually or audibly. In detail, the input information may be expressed in a visual form included in an output screen on which the advertisement content is played. For example, the input information may be represented as a text or graphic object and included in the output screen. That is, the input information may be represented on the output screen in the form of numbers, letters, symbols, figures, images, icons, avatars, or videos. In addition, the input information may be expressed in an auditory form included in an output voice in which the advertisement content is played. For example, the input information may be output in the form of a voice signal informing that a specific button, a specific character string, a specific region, or a specific figure is input as an input signal.

The input information may include content about an object to be promoted by the advertisement content. For example, the input information may be content that directly or indirectly informs the user to enter a name, telephone number, other contact information or promotional text of a specific product, service, individual or company, visually or audibly.

Meanwhile, in some embodiments, the input information may not be output in the form of a separate screen, an overlaid image, or an audio signal separated from the advertisement content, but may be included as a part of the advertisement content. In this case, the controller 180 ) May be configured to output the input information by playing the advertisement content.

Hereinafter, examples of outputting the input information together with the advertisement content through the output unit 131 of the receiving apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 through 8.

4 illustrates an example in which input information is displayed in the form of a letter or an icon. A screen 600 for playing the advertisement content is output on the display 135 connected to the video output unit of the receiving device 100, and a part of the screen 600 includes input information 601. The user transmits an advertisement control signal to the input unit 136 of the receiving device 100 using the input module 137 as indicated by the input information 601. That is, an input signal generated by the user pressing a specific button 1371 indicated by the input information 601 among the buttons of the remote controller 137 is transmitted to the receiving device 100, and the receiving device 100 The controller 180 determines whether the received input signal corresponds to the advertisement control signal for the advertisement content, and when the input signal corresponds to the advertisement control signal according to the determination result, the advertisement control signal. As a result, the reproduction of the advertisement content is controlled.

5 illustrates an example in which input information is displayed in the form of a letter or an icon and generates an input signal by a touch method. The receiving device 100 of FIG. 5 is an example in which a display 135 to which a touch pad type input module 137 is coupled is mounted. The screen 600 on which the advertisement content is played is output to the display 135, and a part of the screen 600 includes input information 601. The input unit of the receiving device 100 receives an input signal generated by a touch input to a portion of the touch pad type input module 137 corresponding to the input information 601. An input signal generated by a touch input for the predetermined portion of the user is transmitted to the input unit of the receiving device 100, and the control unit of the receiving device 100 receives the input signal for the advertisement content. It is determined whether it corresponds to an advertisement control signal, and if the input signal corresponds to the advertisement control signal according to the determination result, reproduction of the advertisement content is controlled according to the advertisement control signal.

6 to 8 illustrate examples of input information output to receive an input signal associated with a promotion target of advertisement content. The input information used in FIGS. 6 to 8 is for inducing a user to input a specific input signal. For example, the input information may be one or more letters or numbers included in the screen 600 on which the advertisement content is played.

In FIG. 6, the input information 602 is directly output by using one or more characters of the input signal corresponding to the advertisement control signal. In FIG. 7, the input information 603 is directly output by using one or more numbers indicating which input signal corresponds to the advertisement control signal. In FIG. 9, the input information 604 is indirectly output using a form such as a question or a quiz so as to associate an input signal corresponding to the advertisement control signal. The

input information

602, 603, and 604 may be audibly output through the speaker 133.

9 illustrates a method for providing advertisement content in a VOD system according to embodiments disclosed herein. Hereinafter, the content server 200, the management server 300, and the advertisement server 400 illustrated in FIG. 9 will be described as an example of being implemented and operated as independent devices, but the servers are implemented as one device or a plurality of devices. Can be.

First, the advertisement server 400 transmits the advertisement content to be transmitted to the receiving device 100 to the content server 200 (S110). The step of transmitting the advertisement content to the content server 200 (S110) may be performed in advance regardless of the playback of the video content.

In addition, the management server 300 transmits the information on the VOD content to the receiving device (100) (S120). The transmitting of the information on the VOD content (S120) may be performed in a service start process after the power of the receiving apparatus 100 is turned on or may be performed in advance through other processes.

The receiving device 100 transmits a reproduction request for video content to the content server 200 (S211). The play request includes information about video content to be watched. The video content to be watched is selected based on the information about the VOD content. The content server 200 receiving the play request may perform a process of determining advertisement content associated with the video content.

Next, the content server 200 transmits advertisement management information about advertisement content associated with the video content to the receiving device 100 in response to the play request (S221). In some embodiments, the advertisement management information may include an indicator indicating that an advertisement skip or FF function may be performed on the advertisement content, information on an advertisement control signal, or input information on the advertisement control signal. have.

Next, the content server 200 starts transmitting the advertising content to the receiving device 100 (S222), and the receiving device 100 receiving the advertising content starts playing the advertising content (S222). S230).

Next, the reception device 100 may receive an input signal by an input unit when the reproduction of the advertisement content is not completed (S241).

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the receiving device 100 determines whether the input signal corresponds to a skip signal (S242a). If it is determined that the input signal corresponds to the skip signal, the reception device 100 may transmit a skip request to the content server 200 (S250a). The content server 200 receiving the skip request may stop the transmission of the advertisement content and start the transmission of the video content when the transmission of the advertisement content is continued (S260). When receiving the video content from the content server 200, the reception device 100 stops the reproduction of the advertisement content (S270) and plays the video content (S280).

FIG. 10 illustrates an example in which the advertisement providing method illustrated in FIG. 9 is extended. The advertisement providing method illustrated in FIG. 10 is an example in which the advertisement providing method described with reference to FIG. 9 is performed in association with other processes of the VOD service.

First, the advertisement server 400 transmits the advertisement content to be transmitted to the receiving device 100 to the content server 200 (S110).

In addition, the management server 300 transmits the information on the VOD content to the receiving device (100) (S120). The transmitting of the information on the VOD content (S120) may include several processes performed by the receiving apparatus 100 in the process of starting the VOD service. Specifically, when the receiving device 100 is powered on or restarts the VOD service, the receiving device 100 sends a VOD service request message including subscriber authentication information necessary to start the VOD service. Transfer to 300 (S121). The management server 300 performs an authentication process for the subscriber based on the authentication information (S122). When the management server 300 determines that the subscriber can use the VOD service as a result of performing the authentication process (S122), the management server 300 transmits information on the video content available to the subscriber to the receiving device 100. (S123). In operation S123, the information about the video content may be a list of available video content. The list of video content may be received from the advertisement server 400. Thereafter, the reception apparatus 100 selects video content to be played based on the information on the video content according to the EPG and transmits the information on the selected video content to the management server 300 (S124). The management server 300 may store information on the selected video content in order to record usage details.

Next, the receiving device 100 transmits a playback request for video content to the content server 200 (S211). The play request includes information about video content to be watched. The video content to be watched is selected based on the information about the VOD content.

The content server 200 receiving the play request may perform a process of determining advertisement content associated with the video content (S212). That is, in some embodiments, the content server 200 may transmit an advertisement determination request including information about the video content to the advertisement server 400 (S2121). The advertisement server 400 determines what advertisement content to provide to the video content based on the information about the video content in the advertisement determination request in operation S2122a. The advertisement server 400 transmits the information about the determined advertisement content to the content server 200 (S2123).

Next, the content server 200 transmits advertisement management information about advertisement content associated with the video content to the receiving device 100 in response to the play request (S221). Subsequent performing steps are the same as those shown in FIG. 9, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The advertisement server 400 registers information on advertisement content (S10). The information registration step S10 may be independently performed regardless of the VOD service request or the video content reproduction request of the receiving device 100. The information on the advertisement content may include advertisement additional information provided from an advertiser.

In addition, the advertisement server 400 may receive information about video contents that the content server 200 can provide from the content server 200 (S21). In addition, the advertisement server 400 may receive subscriber information of the management server 300 from the management server 300 (S22).

The advertisement server 400 may predetermine an advertisement for each content or subscriber based on the video content information or the subscriber information (S23). As such, when an advertisement according to a specific content or a subscriber is predetermined, the advertisement server 400 selects advertisement content with reference to the predetermined advertisement content in response to the advertisement determination request (S2121) of the content server 200. In operation S2122b, information about the selected advertisement content may be transmitted to the content server 200 (S2123).

FIG. 12 illustrates an example in which the advertisement content providing method of FIG. 9 is applied to an intermediate advertisement provided during video content reproduction. Hereinafter, the method of providing the intermediate advertisement will be described based on differences from the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 9.

The reception device 100 receives management information on the first advertisement content associated with the video content from the content server 200 in response to the video content presentation request S211 (S221a). Thereafter, the content server 200 starts to transmit the first advertisement content to the receiving device 100 (S222a), and the receiving device 100 receiving the first advertisement content receives the first advertisement content. Play (S230a). The first advertisement content may correspond to a start advertisement.

When the reproduction of the first advertisement content is completed without input of a skip signal, the reception device 100 starts to receive the video content from the content server 200 (S260a), and plays the video content. Start (S280a).

The content server 200 transmits management information on the second advertisement content to the receiving device 100 when the condition for transmitting the intermediate advertisement is satisfied while the video content is being played. Thereafter, the content server 200 starts to transmit the second advertisement content to the receiving device 100 (S222b), and the receiving device 100 receiving the second advertisement content receives the second advertisement content. Play (S230b). The second advertisement content may correspond to an intermediate advertisement.

Next, when receiving the input signal by the input unit when the reproduction of the second advertisement content is not completed (S241), the receiving device 100 determines whether the input signal corresponds to the skip signal (S241). S242a). If it is determined that the input signal corresponds to the skip signal, the reception device 100 may transmit a skip request to the content server 200 (S250a). If the receiving device 100 receives the video content corresponding to the point after the playback is stopped in the previous playback step (S280a) from the content server 200 (S260b), and stops the playback of the second advertising content and In operation S270, the video content is played back in operation S280b.

13 illustrates another embodiment of a method for providing advertisement content in a VOD system. According to another embodiment of FIG. 13, a method of transmitting an associated advertisement message through a separate medium as a reward for stopping reproduction of advertisement content by executing an advertisement skip function is illustrated. Hereinafter, a method of transmitting the associated advertisement message will be described based on differences from the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 9.

In some embodiments, when receiving the input signal by the input unit when the reproduction of the advertisement content is not completed, the receiving device 100 determines whether the input signal corresponds to the skip signal (S242a). If it is determined that the input signal corresponds to the skip signal, the skip request is transmitted to the content server 200 (S250a).

The content server 200 receiving the skip request transmits a message associated with the advertisement content to the message receiving device of the subscriber (S251). According to the transmission result of the message, the content server 200 transmits the video content to the receiving device 100 (S260). For example, when the message is successfully transmitted, the content server 200 may transmit the video content to the receiving device 100 in response to the skip request. The message receiving device may be the subscriber's cellular phone, an e-mail server or other subscriber's information store.

Next, the receiving device 100 may stop playing the advertisement (S270) and play the video content received from the content server 200 (S280).

14 illustrates a method of transmitting an advertisement association message that can be applied to the embodiments disclosed herein. The method (S251) of transmitting the advertisement related message is also applicable to the embodiment exception shown in FIG.

When the content server 200 receives the advertisement skip request from the receiving apparatus 100 (S250a), the content server 200 sends a message associated with the advertisement content to the advertisement server 400 by the subscriber. Request to send to (S2511). The advertisement server 400 cooperates with the content server 200 to obtain information about the subscriber (S22512). The information about the subscriber may be information on the destination for the subscriber for the associated message, for example information on the subscriber's mobile number, email address or personal information store. The advertisement server 400 may obtain information about the subscriber from the content server 200, the management server 300, or another server managing subscriber information.

Thereafter, the advertisement server 400 may transmit the associated message as information on the destination (S2513), and transmit the message transmission result to the content server 200 (S2514).

The content server 200 may determine whether to allow the reproduction of the advertisement content in response to the advertisement skip request S250a based on the message transmission result, and based on the determination result of the permission. In operation S260, the video content may be transmitted.

15 illustrates an example in which a content server determines whether an input signal corresponds to an advertisement skip signal in a method of providing advertisement content. Hereinafter, the method of providing the intermediate advertisement will be described based on differences from the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 9.

The reception device 100 receives management information on advertisement content associated with the video content from the content server 200 in response to the video content reproduction request S211 (S221). Thereafter, the content server 200 starts to transmit the advertisement content to the receiving device 100 (S222), and the receiving device 100 receiving the advertisement content starts playing the advertisement content (S222). S230).

Next, the reception device 100 may receive an input signal by an input unit when the reproduction of the advertisement content is not completed (S241). According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the reception device 100 transmits an advertisement skip request including the input signal to the content server 200 (S250b).

Next, the content server 200 receiving the advertisement skip request determines whether the input signal corresponds to the skip signal of the advertisement content (S242b).

Next, when it is determined that the input signal corresponds to the skip signal, the content server 200 transmits the video content to the receiving device 100 (S260).

FIG. 16 illustrates an example in which the advertisement content providing method of FIG. 15 is applied to an intermediate advertisement provided during video content reproduction. Hereinafter, the method of providing the intermediate advertisement will be described based on differences from the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 15.

Next, the reception device 100 may receive an input signal by an input unit when the reproduction of the second advertisement content is not completed (S241). According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the reception device 100 transmits an advertisement skip request including the input signal to the content server 200 (S250b).

Next, when it is determined that the input signal corresponds to the skip signal, the content server 200 transmits the video content to the receiving device 100 (S260b). The video content transmission step S260b may correspond to a point after the playback is stopped in the previous playback step S280a.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example in which the advertisement content providing method of FIG. 15 is modified to transmit an associated advertisement message through a separate medium. Hereinafter, a method of transmitting the associated advertisement message will be described based on differences from the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 15.

The reception device 100 may receive an input signal by an input unit when reproduction of the advertisement content is not completed (S241). The receiving device 100 transmits an advertisement skip request including the input signal to the content server 200 (S250b). The content server 200 receiving the advertisement skip request determines whether the input signal corresponds to a skip signal of the advertisement content (S242b).

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when it is determined that the input signal corresponds to a skip signal, the content server 200 may transmit a message associated with the advertisement content to the message receiving device of the subscriber (S251). . The message transmission process may be specifically operated as described with reference to FIG. 14.

According to the transmission result of the message, the content server 200 transmits the video content to the receiving device 100 (S260). For example, when the message is successfully transmitted, the content server 200 may transmit the video content to the receiving device 100 in response to the skip request.

18 illustrates an advertisement transmission method that may be applied to the embodiments disclosed herein. Hereinafter, an advertisement transmission method that may be modified and applied to the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 17 will be described based on differences.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, instead of transmitting the advertisement in response to the video content reproduction request S211 (S222), the content server 200 that receives the advertisement content from the advertisement server 400 is previously advertised. May be provided to the receiving device 100 (S2221), and the receiving device 100 may store the previously transmitted advertising content (S2222). The processes S2221 and S2222 may be performed in advance when the receiving apparatus 100 is powered on. In addition, the advertisement content may be stored in advance at the time of manufacturing the receiving device (100).

In this case, in response to the video content reproduction request (S211), the content server performs an advertisement determination process (S212), and then transmits advertisement management information including the determined advertisement information to the receiving device 100 ( S221). The determined advertisement information indicates the pre-stored advertisement content, and thereafter, the reception device 100 starts to play corresponding to the stored advertisement content as the content according to the determined advertisement information (S2301).

19 illustrates a video content transmission method that may be applied to a VOD system using pre-stored advertisement content. In the following description, differences from the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 18 will be described.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, since the reception apparatus 100 does not need to perform a separate advertisement content transmission process when starting the reproduction of the stored advertisement content, while the reproduction of the stored advertisement content is performed, the content server ( 200 may start the transmission of the video content (S2601). The receiving device 100 may temporarily store the video content during the reproduction of the advertisement content (S2602).

Thereafter, the content server 200 may additionally or continuously transmit the video content (S2602), and permits playback of the temporarily stored video content in response to the advertisement skip request (S250) of the receiving device 100. The reproduction of the advertisement content may be stopped and the reproduction of the video content may be started.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein, and the present invention can be modified, changed, or improved in various forms within the scope of the spirit and claims of the present invention.

Claims

A content receiving device providing an advertisement in an on-demand video system,

An input unit configured to receive an input signal of a user;

A communication unit configured to receive content, advertisement, and advertisement management information from a server;

An output unit for playing the content and the advertisement; And

And a controller configured to control the reproduction of the advertisement and the content according to the input signal and the advertisement control signal included in the advertisement management information.

The advertisement control signal includes a skip signal,

The control unit

Determine whether the input signal corresponds to the skip signal,

If the determination result corresponds to the skip signal, a skip request is sent to the server;

And reproducing the advertisement in response to the skip request, and reproducing the content.
The method of claim 1, wherein the skip request is

And requesting to stop the transmission of the advertisement and to start the transmission of the content.
The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit

And the output unit controls the output unit to output the input information indicating that the advertisement control signal can be input together with the reproduced advertisement.
The method of claim 3, wherein the input information is

Content receiving apparatus, characterized in that expressed in a visual form included in the output screen of the advertisement.
The method of claim 4, wherein

The visual form is represented by a text or graphic object,

Content receiving apparatus comprising a number, letters, symbols, figures, images, icons, avatars or videos.
The method of claim 4, wherein the input information is

Content receiving device, characterized in that the name of the product, service, individual or company, telephone number, other contact information or promotional text
The method of claim 6, wherein the input information is

Content receiving apparatus, characterized in that included as part of the content of the advertisement.
The method of claim 3, wherein the input information is

Content receiving apparatus characterized in that it is represented in an auditory form.
The method of claim 1,

The advertisement control signal includes a fast forward signal,

The control unit

And when the input signal is determined to correspond to the fast moving signal, quickly plays the advertisement, and reproduces the content after the reproduction of the advertisement is finished.
A method of providing an advertisement of a content receiving device in an on-demand video system,

Receiving advertisements and advertisement management information from a server;

Playing the advertisement;

Receiving an input signal before the reproduction of the advertisement is finished;

Determining whether the input signal corresponds to a skip signal included in the advertisement management information;

Transmitting a skip request to the server when it is determined to correspond to the skip signal;

Receiving a response to the skip request;

Stopping playback of the advertisement in response to the response; And

Receiving video content from the server.
The method of claim 10,

Playing the input information together with the advertisement;

And the input information indicates that the skip signal can be input.
The method of claim 11, wherein the input information is

Represented in a visual form included in the output screen of the advertisement,

The visual form is represented by a text or graphic object,

Advertisement providing method comprising a number, letters, symbols, shapes, images, icons, avatars or videos.
The method of claim 12,

And the input information is represented in an auditory form.
The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the input information is

Advertising, characterized in that the name of the goods, services, individuals or companies, telephone numbers, other contact information or promotional text.
As a method of providing an advertisement of a content server in an on-demand video system,

Receiving a request to play video content;

Determining an advertisement associated with the video content;

Transmitting management information of the advertisement to a receiving device;

Starting to send the advertisement to the receiving device;

Receiving a skip request for the advertisement;

Determining whether an input signal included in the skip request corresponds to a skip signal;

Transmitting a message associated with the advertisement to a message receiving device of a subscriber of the receiving device when the input signal corresponds to the skip signal as a result of the determination; And

And starting to transmit the video content to a receiving device according to the transmission result of the message.
The method of claim 15,

The message receiving apparatus includes any one of a mobile phone, a mail server and a message storage server.
The method of claim 16,

Sending the message is

Requesting an advertisement server to send a message associated with the advertisement; And

Receiving the transmission result of the message from the advertisement server.
The method of claim 17,

And the advertisement server obtains information of the message receiving device from the content server or the subscriber information storage server.