WO2015039470A1

WO2015039470A1 - Iptv program recording method, device and system

Info

Publication number: WO2015039470A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/080245
Authority: WO
Inventors: 王峰
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2013-09-22
Filing date: 2014-06-18
Publication date: 2015-03-26
Also published as: CN104469418A; CN104469418B

Abstract

Disclosed are an IPTV program recording method, device and system. The method comprises: receiving a program recording plan issued by an appointment server; and according to the recording capability of each DVR in a plurality of DVRs, allocating the program recording plan to the plurality of DVRs, wherein the plurality of DVRs are used for recording programs according to the allocated program recording plan. By means of the present invention, the problem in the related art of the low recording capability and recording efficiency of a Whole Home DVR system is solved, the recording capability and recording efficiency of the Whole Home DVR system are increased, and the user experience is improved.

Description

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular to an IPTV program recording method, apparatus, and system. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is a system for transmitting television information by using a broadband network as a medium, integrating technologies such as Internet, multimedia, and communication, and providing home users with live video, recording, and on-demand broadcasting. , as well as new technologies for interactive services such as information browsing, online gaming, voice communication, distance education, telemedicine, e-commerce, etc. A set-top box (STB for short) is an IPTV terminal device placed in the user's home. The set-top box is connected to the network through an Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) or a Local Area Network (LAN). The user side is connected to the TV and has standardized universal input and output. interface. Supports two-way symmetric or asymmetric communication services. It undertakes the forwarding of information from the network to the user or from the user to the network, as well as the media format conversion function of the transmission media format to the display device. Users can obtain related services from the operator's IPTV system through the set-top box. The recording of the live channel program, as the basic function of the IPTV service, is also superior to the traditional TV, and is favored by the majority of users, and is also highly valued by operators and equipment vendors. Recording can be achieved through network recording and local recording. Among them, due to copyright, cost and other factors, many operators use local recording to achieve recording. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network of a Whole Home Digital Video Recorder (Whole Home DVR) according to the related art. As shown in FIG. 1, multiple set-top boxes can exist in one home because local recording requires Hard disk, so you need to include multiple set-top boxes with hard drives (ie digital video recorder DVR), and can also include multiple set-top boxes (STBs) without hard drives. The user can set one of the set-top boxes with hard disks as the master set-top box (Master DVR, also known as the central DVR, DVR Hub), and the DVR Hub and STB set-top boxes form a home network called Whole Home DVR. The program recording plan added by the user is delivered to the set top box in the home through the reservation server. All set-top boxes in the Whole Home DVR can browse booking schedules and recordings indiscriminately. There is only one set-top box with a hard disk in the Whole Home DVR, and the other set-top box with a hard disk in the home as a separate slave set-top box (Slave DVR). The reservation plan and recording program are not shared with the set-top box in the Whole Home DVR. It should be noted that although the Slave DVR is shown in FIG. 1, strictly speaking, the Slave DVR is not included in the Whole Home DVR. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a recording module in a Whole Home DVR system according to the related art. As shown in FIG. 2, the DVR Hub mainly includes a recording control module, a capability conflict judging module, a recorded program management module, and a digital living network alliance (Digital). Living Network Alliance (DLNA) module; The Slave DVR recording structure in the figure is not directly connected or shared with the DVR Hub. The networking method of the Whole Home DVR in the related art can enable the user to set the set top box without the hard disk.

On the STB, the reservation plan of the live channel program is added, browsed, recorded, browsed, played, and the like, thereby enjoying the same DVR-like function on the relatively low-cost STB without the hard disk. However, since the actual recording work is performed on the DVR Hub, and the resources of the DVR are limited, it is impossible to add a recording plan without limitation. In fact, the three-way recording at the same time of the live broadcast will reach the upper limit of the DVR capability. When the user performs the recording again, the user's experience in the Whole Home DVR system is greatly reduced. Other Slave DVRs in the home are independent of the Whole Home DVR, and the utilization rate is relatively insufficient compared to the DVR Hub. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a mechanism that can simultaneously improve the user experience in the Whole Home DVR and improve the efficiency of the Slave DVR to improve the recording capability and recording efficiency of the Whole Home DVR system. In view of the low recording capability and low recording efficiency of the Whole Home DVR system in the related art, an effective solution has not been proposed yet. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention provide an IPTV program recording system, apparatus, and method, to at least solve the problem of low recording capability and low recording efficiency of a Whole Home DVR system in the related art. According to an aspect of the present invention, an IPTV program recording system is provided, including: a reservation server, a capability control unit, and a plurality of DVRs, wherein the reservation server is configured to issue a program recording plan; the capability control unit, Connecting to the plurality of DVRs, configured to allocate the program recording plan to the plurality of DVRs according to a recording capability of each of the plurality of DVRs; and the plurality of DVRs are set to be according to the allocated programs Record a plan, record a show. Preferably, the first DVR of the plurality of DVRs comprises the capability control unit. Preferably, each of the DVRs further includes: a DVR detecting unit, configured to detect whether the DVR in which the DVR detecting unit is located is the first DVR; wherein the first DVR is further configured to receive and save other DVRs DVR information and/or DVR information of the first DVR; the other DVR is further configured to send its own DVR information to the first DVR, where the DVR information includes at least: node location information and recording capability information . Preferably, the capability control unit comprises: a recording capability calculation subunit, configured to determine a recording capability of each DVR according to the saved DVR information; a recording plan allocation subunit, connected to the recording capability calculation subunit, The program recording schedule is assigned to the plurality of DVRs according to the determined recording capabilities of each of the DVRs. Preferably, each of the DVRs further includes: a reservation plan dump unit, wherein the reservation plan dump unit of the first DVR is connected to the recording plan allocation subunit, and is configured to be allocated to the other DVR a program recording plan is sent to the other DVR; the reservation plan dump unit of the other DVR is connected to the reservation plan dump unit of the first DVR, configured to receive the allocated program recording plan, and the program is received The recording schedule is sent to the recording control unit of the other DVR. Preferably, the reservation plan dumping unit of the first DVR is further configured to send a program recording plan change request to the other DVR, wherein the program recording plan change request is used to indicate a program allocated to the other DVR Recording plan change information; the reservation plan dump unit of the other DVR is further configured to receive the program recording plan change request, and send the program recording plan change request to the recording control unit of the other DVR. Preferably, the recording control unit is configured to convert the program recording schedule into a program recording task and execute the program recording task; and/or update the program recording schedule or the program recording task according to the received program recording schedule change request. . Preferably, the first DVR further includes: a capability conflict management unit, configured to count the recording capabilities of the multiple DVRs, and present the conflict plan to the user. Preferably, each of the DVRs further includes: a recorded program integration unit, wherein the recorded program integration unit of the first DVR, the recorded program integration unit of the other DVR, and the recorded program management of the first DVR The unit is connected, configured to integrate and manage the programs recorded by the plurality of DVRs through the recording program integration unit of the other DVR. Preferably, the recorded program management unit of the first DVR is further configured to: record a program play request according to a recorded program playing unit of at least one DVR of the plurality of DVRs and/or at least one set top box STB without a hard disk And transmitting, to the recorded program playing unit, address information of the recorded program corresponding to the recorded program play request. According to another aspect of the present invention, an IPTV program recording apparatus is provided, including: a receiving module, configured to receive a program recording plan delivered by a reservation server; and an allocation module, configured to The recording capability of each DVR in the DVR assigns the program recording plan to the plurality of DVRs, wherein the plurality of DVRs are for recording a program according to the allocated program recording schedule. According to another aspect of the present invention, an IPTV program recording method is further provided, including: receiving a program recording plan delivered by a reservation server; recording the program according to a recording capability of each DVR in the plurality of DVRs A plan is assigned to the plurality of DVRs, wherein the plurality of DVRs are arranged to record a program according to an assigned program recording schedule. According to the embodiment of the present invention, the program recording plan delivered by the reservation server is received; the program recording plan is allocated to the plurality of DVRs according to the recording capability of each DVR in the plurality of DVRs, wherein the plurality of DVRs are set according to the allocation The program recording program records the program, solves the problem of low recording ability and low recording efficiency of the Whole Home DVR system in related technologies, improves the recording ability and recording efficiency of the Whole Home DVR system, and improves the user experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are set to illustrate,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of networking of a whole home digital video recorder according to the related art; FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a recording module in a Whole Home DVR system according to the related art; FIG. 3 is an IPTV according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an IPTV program recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an IPTV program recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a preferred structure of an IPTV program recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a preferred structure of an IPTV program recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a Whole Home DVR according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a recording module in a Whole Home DVR system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a schematic diagram of a DVR detection flow in a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a recording capability control flow in a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 13 is a schematic diagram of a reservation plan dump process in a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 14 is a recording program integration in a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of an enhanced capability conflict management process in a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 16 is a perspective diagram of a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. An enhanced schematic diagram of the recorded program playback process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict. The invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings in conjunction with the embodiments. The steps illustrated in the flowchart of the figures may be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer executable instructions, and although the logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases, may differ from this The steps shown are performed in the order shown or described. The embodiment of the present invention provides a method for recording an IPTV program. FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for recording an IPTV program according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the method includes the following steps: Step S302: Receiving is sent by a reservation server. The program recording plan is set; in step S304, the program recording plan is allocated to the plurality of DVRs according to the recording capability of each of the plurality of DVRs, wherein the plurality of DVRs are set to record the programs according to the allocated program recording schedule. Through the above steps, according to the recording capability of each DVR in multiple DVRs, the program recording schedule delivered by the reservation server is distributed to multiple DVRs to separately record programs, which solves the recording capability and recording efficiency of the Whole Home DVR system in the related art. Low problem. It can be seen that the foregoing solution of this embodiment is relative to the related art. There is only one DVR in a Whole Home DVR system, which improves the recording capability and recording efficiency of the Whole Home DVR system and enhances the user experience. Preferably, the above method may be performed by a capability control unit, and the capability control unit may also be a DVR of a plurality of DVRs. For convenience of description, in the following, a DVR capable of realizing the function of the capability control unit is called The first DVR or DVR Hub. In the following description, description is preferably made using the DVR Hub, it being understood that the DVR Hub can also be understood to be equivalent to the above-described capability control unit without conflict. The difference between the two may be: The DVR Hub itself can record the program, and the capability control unit can have the function of program recording or not. Preferably, the method further comprises: each DVR of the plurality of DVRs detecting whether it is a DVR Hub; wherein, detecting that the DVR of the DVR Hub itself receives and saves DVR information and/or the other DVRs (ie, Slave DVRs) The DVR information of a DVR is detected; the DVR of the DVR is sent to the DVR Hub, and the DVR information includes at least: node location information and recording capability information. The recording capability information includes: a maximum recording capability information of the DVR and/or a current recording capability information of the DVR. It should be noted that the foregoing Slave DVR is respectively connected to the DVR Hub. When detecting whether it is a DVR Hub, it can be judged according to the location of the node in the system or the system configuration parameter, for example, the DVR of the node at the center. For the DVR Hub. Preferably, the Slave DVR can broadcast DVR information to other DVRs in the system, and the DVR Hub acquires DVR information by listening to broadcasts of other DVRs. Preferably, the DVR Hub can determine, according to the DVR information, whether the current system has a Slave DVR that can allocate a program recording plan; if present, allocate a program recording plan in the current system; if not, the DVR Hub processes all the program recordings. plan. Preferably, step S302 may include: Step S302a, determining a recording capability of each DVR according to the saved DVR information; Step S302b, assigning a program recording plan to the plurality of DVRs according to the determined recording capability of each DVR. Preferably, the method further comprises: the DVR Hub transmitting the program recording schedule assigned to the Slave DVR to each of the Slave DVRs; the Slave DVR receiving the assigned program recording schedule, and transmitting the program recording schedule to the recording control of the Slave DVR unit. Among them, the program recording plan assigned by the DVR Hub to itself is directly sent to its own recording control unit for processing. Preferably, the DVR Hub can set a certain program recording plan allocation strategy, for example, preferentially assigning the program recording plan to the Slave DVR processing, and assigning the program recording plan to the self-processing when the recording capability of the Slave DVR reaches a predetermined value; or The program recording schedule is preferentially assigned to its own processing, and the program recording schedule is assigned to the Slave DVR for processing when its recording capability reaches a predetermined value. Of course, other allocation strategies are not limited in this embodiment, and an appropriate allocation strategy of the program recording plan can be selected according to actual needs. Preferably, the DVR Hub may further send a program recording plan change request to the slave DVR, where the program recording plan change request is used to indicate the change information of the program recording plan assigned to the slave DVR, such as deletion, modification, etc. of the program recording plan; After receiving the program recording plan change request, the Slave DVR sends the program recording plan change request to the recording control unit of the Slave DVR for processing. Preferably, the recording control unit may convert the program recording schedule into a program recording task and perform a program recording task; and/or update the program recording schedule or the program recording task according to the received program recording schedule change request. Preferably, the DVR Hub can also count the recording capabilities of all DVRs in the Whole Home DVR system and present the conflict plan to the user so that the user can intervene in the handling of the conflict plan. Preferably, the functional units in the DVR Hub can integrate and manage programs recorded by all DVRs in the Whole Home DVR system through corresponding functional units in the Slave DVR. Preferably, the recorded program management unit of the DVR Hub is further configured to record a program play request according to one or more DVRs of the plurality of DVRs and/or one or more recorded program playing units of the STB without the hard disk, correspondingly The recorded program playing unit transmits the address information of the recorded program corresponding to the recorded program play request, wherein the recorded program playing unit queries and plays the requested recorded program according to the address information. The embodiment also provides an IPTV program recording device, which is used to implement the above IPTV program recording method. The specific implementation process of the device described in the device embodiment has been described in detail in the method embodiment, and is no longer described herein. Narration. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an IPTV program recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the apparatus includes: a receiving module 42 and an allocating module 44, wherein the receiving module 42 is configured to receive the delivery by the subscription server. a program recording schedule; an allocation module 44 coupled to the receiving module 42 configured to assign a program recording schedule to a plurality of DVRs according to a recording capability of each of the plurality of DVRs, wherein the plurality of DVRs are set to record the program according to the assigned program Recording program. It should be noted that the receiving module 42 can be directly connected to the reservation server. At this time, the reservation server can directly deliver the program recording plan to the IPTV program recording device, and is allocated by the distribution module 44 of the device; preferably, the receiving module The program recording schedule issued by the reservation server can be obtained by other modules (for example, the recording control module). The modules and units involved in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by software, or may be implemented by hardware. The described modules and units in this embodiment may also be disposed in a processor. For example, it may be described as follows: A processor includes a receiving module 42 and an allocating module 44. The names of these modules do not constitute a limitation on the module itself under certain circumstances. For example, the receiving module may also be described as "a module that is set to receive a program recording schedule issued by the reservation server." It should be noted that the preferred structure of the IPTV program recording apparatus will be described in conjunction with the following IPTV program recording system, and details are not described herein. In the IPTV program recording system provided by this embodiment, the program recording system can also be combined with the description and description of the IPTV program recording method without conflict. FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an IPTV program recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the system includes: a reservation server 52, a capability control unit 54, and a plurality of DVRs 56, wherein the reservation server 52 directly or through The recording control unit is indirectly connected to the capability control unit 54 for issuing a program recording schedule; the capability control unit 54 is connected to the plurality of DVRs 56, and is configured to record the program according to the recording capability of each of the plurality of DVRs 56. The plan is assigned to a plurality of DVRs 56; a plurality of DVRs 56 are set to record the programs according to the assigned program recording schedule. Preferably, the first DVR 562 of the plurality of DVRs 56 (ie, DVR Hub 562) includes a capability control unit

54, The other DVRs in multiple DVRs are Slave DVR 564. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a preferred structure of an IPTV program recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, each DVR further includes: a DVR detecting unit configured to detect whether the DVR where the DVR detecting unit is located is a DVR. Hub 562; wherein DVR Hub 562 is also configured to receive and save DVR information of Slave DVR 564 and/or DVR information of DVR Hub 562; Slave DVR 564 is also configured to send its own DVR information to DVR Hub 562, where DVR The information includes at least: node location information and recording capability information. Since each DVR in the above-mentioned Whole Home DVR system has the possibility of becoming a DVR Hub, the user can configure to determine which DVR is the DVR Hub, and then the other DVRs are changed to the Slave DVR accordingly. Preferably, some DVRs or all DVRs in the Whole Home DVR system can have There is a capability control unit, and the capability control unit is activated in the case where the DVR in which it is located is determined to be the DVR Hub, thereby performing the corresponding function. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a preferred structure of an IPTV program recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the capability control unit 54 includes: a recording capability calculation sub-unit 542, configured to determine according to the saved DVR information. The recording capability allocation unit 544 of each DVR is connected to the recording capability calculation sub-unit 542, and is set to assign a program recording plan to a plurality of DVRs according to the determined recording capability of each DVR. FIG. 8 is a third schematic diagram of a preferred structure of an IPTV program recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, each DVR further includes: an appointment plan dump unit 5622/5642, wherein the DVR Hub 562 is reserved. The plan dump unit 5622 is connected to the recording plan assigning subunit 542, and is configured to transmit the program recording plan assigned to the slave DVR 564 to the slave DVR 564; the reservation plan dump unit 5642 of the Slave DVR 564, and the reservation with the DVR Hub 562 The plan dump unit 5622 is connected, arranged to receive the assigned program recording schedule, and to send the program recording plan to the recording control unit of the Slave DVR 564. Preferably, the reservation plan dump unit 5622 of the DVR Hub 562 is further configured to send a program recording plan change request to the slave DVR 564, wherein the program recording plan change request is set to indicate the change information of the program recording plan assigned to the slave DVR 564. The reservation plan dump unit 5644 of the Slave DVR 564 is further configured to receive a program recording plan change request and transmit the program recording plan change request to the recording control unit of the Slave DVR 564. Preferably, the recording control unit is located in the DVR, configured to convert the program recording schedule into a program recording task, and perform a program recording task; and/or update the program recording schedule or the program recording task according to the received program recording schedule change request. Preferably, the DVR Hub 562 further includes: a capability conflict management unit configured to count the recording capabilities of the plurality of DVRs and present the conflict plan to the user. Preferably, each DVR in the system further comprises: a recording program integration unit, wherein the recording program integration unit of the DVR Hub 562 is connected with the recording program integration unit of the Slave DVR 564 and the recorded program management unit of the DVR Hub, and is set to Through the Slave DVR 564's recorded program integration unit, all DVR recorded programs in the system are integrated and managed. Preferably, the recorded program management unit of the DVR Hub is further configured to: play a recorded program according to at least one DVR of the plurality of DVRs and/or at least one recorded program playing unit of the set top box STB without the hard disk. And transmitting, to the recorded program playing unit, address information of the recorded program corresponding to the recorded program play request. The recorded program playing unit queries and plays the requested recorded program according to the address information. Description and description are made below in conjunction with the preferred embodiments. The preferred embodiment provides a method and system for enhancing the recording capability based on Whole Home DVR in an IPTV system. The application of the IPTV local recording system in the preferred embodiment can solve the problem that the STB in the current Whole Home DVR can only be recorded by the DVR Hub during recording, and cannot use the Slave DVR, and the recording success rate of multiple users is operated. Not high, and the problem of Slave DVR utilization is not high. Thus, the local recording capability and the success rate of multi-user recording can be improved by the preferred embodiment. The preferred embodiment provides a method and system for enhancing local recording capability of an IPTV system, wherein the system includes: a DVR detection unit (DCNU), an capability control unit (ACU), a reservation plan dump unit (STMU), and an enhanced The capability conflict management unit (ERAMU), the recorded program integration unit (RCRU), and the enhanced recorded program management module, based on the above system, the method for realizing the local recording capability enhancement of the IPTV system includes the following steps: Step 1, adding the Slave DVR In the Whole Home DVR, the recording plan can be recorded on different DVRs under the scheduling of the DVR Hub, and realizes the indiscriminate operation of all the set-top boxes in the home for the reservation plan and the unified management of the recorded programs. The following steps 2 to 7 are descriptions of the process of recording plan addition, recording capability control, recording plan execution, and recording program management, respectively. Step 2: After the power is turned on, the DVR detecting unit in the set top box is responsible for judging and reporting the DVR information to the DVR Hub. The DVR Hub determines whether there are multiple set top boxes with hard disks in a home, and records all the Slave DVR information in the home; Step 3 The capability enhancement control unit on the DVR Hub calculates the maximum recording capacity based on the stored Slave DVR information. When there is a recording plan to start, judge whether the current recording plan is exceeded according to the maximum recording capability, and assign the recording task to the plan with the capacity satisfaction; Step 4, the reservation plan dump unit on the DVR Hub, responsible for the capacity enhancement control unit The assigned reservation plan is transmitted to the designated Slave DVR; Step 5, the enhanced capability conflict management unit on the DVR Hub, responsible for managing the conflict of the plan, reporting or notifying the conflict plan information to other Slave DVRs; Step 6, on the DVR Hub The recording program integration unit is responsible for unified management of programs on all DVR disks; In step 7, the enhanced recorded program management module of the DVR Hub is responsible for distinguishing the recorded programs according to the addresses stored in the programs, and playing the programs on different STBs. Preferably, in step 2, the DVR detecting unit in the set top box determines whether it is a DVR according to the disk path and determines whether it is a slave DVR, and if so, marks its own state, and notifies its own address information through a broadcast message. Within the home LAN; determine that the set-top box of the DVR Hub collects the broadcast address information and saves it to the flash memory, for example, the file name is dvrinfo.xml. Preferably, in step 2, the DVR Hub compares the broadcast address information with the information stored in dvrinfo.xml, and updates or deletes the data in dvrinfo.xml. Preferably, in step 2, after the dvrinfo.xml is updated, the DVR Hub sets whether the DVR Hub supports the recording capability enhancement function according to the number of nodes. If other Slave DVR information is recorded in dvrinfo.xml, the recording capability is enhanced, otherwise it is not supported. Preferably, in step 2, the information reported by the Slave DVR may further include the number of programs currently being recorded, and when there is a change in the number of programs being recorded, the DVR Hub needs to be notified by a broadcast message. Preferably, in step 3, the DVR Hub calculates the maximum recording capability MaxRAN according to the number of DVRs recorded in dvrinfo.xml, and the maximum recording capability calculation formula is:

MaxRAN = N*An + An, where N is the number of Slave DVRs in the home, and An is the maximum recording capacity of a single hard disk set-top box. An can be dynamically set according to the ability of a single set-top box to actually process the recording. Preferably, in step 3, if a recording plan is started, the number of recording plans on the current DVR Hub has reached An, and is currently the mth recording in the home, m < MaxRAN, according to the Slave DVR recorded in dvrinfo.xml Record the number to determine whether the Slave DVR has reached An. If it is less than An, the current plan is sent to the Slave DVR through the reservation plan dump unit in the DVR Hub in step 4. Preferably, in step 3, the calculation method of the mth path recording is calculated according to the current recording plan number SCn of the Slave DVR recorded in the dvrinfo.xml of step 2, for example: m = An + SCI + SC2 +... + SCn, where n is the number of Slave DVRs. Preferably, in step 4, the reservation plan dump unit on the DVR Hub is responsible for transmitting the current reservation plan to the designated slave DVR through a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Preferably, in step 4, when receiving the reservation plan forwarded by the DVR Hub, the Slave DVR may parse the message and store the reservation plan into the reservation schedule of the Slave DVR. Preferably, in step 4, the Slave DVR can initiate recording immediately upon receiving the reservation plan forwarded by the DVR Hub. Preferably, in step 4, the reservation plan forwarded to the slave DVR is continuously maintained on the DVR Hub, and when the reservation plan is modified or deleted, the reservation plan change request is forwarded to the corresponding slave DVR through the HTTP protocol. Preferably, in step 4, the Slave DVR may modify or delete the recording plan in the Slave DVR when receiving the DVR Hub reservation plan change request. Preferably, in step 5, the DVR Hub compares the calculated m in the step 3 with the MaxRAN, and if m>MaxRAN, reports the capability conflict event to the page. Preferably, in step 6, after the recording is started, the Slave DVR can send the locally newly created recorded program data to the DVR Hub through the HTTP protocol. Preferably, in step 6, after the recording ends, the Slave DVR can send the recorded program update data to the DVR Hub through the HTTP protocol. Preferably, in step 6, after receiving the recorded program data sent by the slave DVR, the DVR Hub may separately store the program data in the program table database and the disk directory. Preferably, in step 7, the program storage location is distinguished by an IP address (IPaddr) field in the program table database, and is assembled into a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the bottom module to play the recorded program. It can be seen that, through the above preferred embodiment, the Slave DVR is added to the Whole Home DVR home network, and the unit module for enhancing the recording capability is added to the DVR Hub and the Slave DVR respectively, so that the recording capability in the Whole Home DVR family can be extremely Large enhancement; by adding the DVR detection unit (DCNU) to the DVR Hub and the Slave DVR through the above preferred embodiments, the recording capability of the Slave DVR can be detected by the DVR Hub, enabling the DVR Hub to monitor the recording capability of the entire home in real time. With the above preferred embodiment, adding the capability control unit (ACU) to the DVR Hub enables the DVR Hub to control the recording capability of all DVR set-top boxes in the entire home, and arrange recording tasks in an orderly manner; Through the above preferred embodiment, a reservation plan dump unit (STMU) is added to the DVR Hub and the Slave DVR respectively, and when the recording capability in the DVR Hub is full, the reservation plan is notified from the DVR Hub to the Slave DVR, and the Slave DVR is notified. To start recording. Moreover, in the preferred embodiment described above, the conflicting cues can be presented for the recording capabilities of the entire Whole Home DVR through the Enhanced Capability Conflict Management Unit (ERAMU) on the DVR Hub; in the preferred embodiment described above, in the DVR Hub and the Slave DVR Deploying a Recording Program Integration Unit (RCRU), respectively, can manage programs recorded in other Slave DVRs on the DVR Hub; in the above preferred embodiment, by deploying an enhanced recorded program management module in the DVR Hub, The program recorded in the Slave DVR is played in the STB or Slave DVR. In summary, the above solution of the preferred embodiment can provide more powerful and scalable recording capability processing for local recording, especially local recording of the Whole Home DVR system, and improve the utilization rate of a single hard disk set-top box. Improve the cost performance of the entire system, enabling users to operate the entire family's recording capabilities on the DVR Hub, eliminating the bottleneck of the DVR Hub's limited stand-alone capabilities, and providing users with a value-for-money experience. At the same time, the system supports the automatic expansion of the Slave DVR, so that the recording capability of the system can be continuously enhanced as the number of Slave DVRs increases. Hereinafter, the preferred embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, taking a method and system for enhancing the whole home DVR recording capability as an example. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a network of a Whole Home DVR according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Compared with the currently used Whole Home DVR network as shown in FIG. 1, the Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system in the preferred embodiment is configured. , the Slave DVR is also added to the Whole Home DVR home network. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a recording module in a Whole Home DVR system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, specifically to a recording module in a DVR Hub and a Slave DVR set-top box, and recording in a related whole technology of the Home Home DVR system shown in FIG. Comparing the module structure with the structure of the Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system recording module shown in FIG. 10, it can be seen that in the recording capability enhancement system in the preferred embodiment, the DVR Hub adds a DVR detection unit (DCNU) and a capability control unit ( ACU), Scheduled Plan Transfer Unit (STMU), Enhanced Capacity Conflict Management Unit (ERAMU), Recording Program Integration Unit (RCRU), Slave DVR adds DVR Detection Unit (DCNU), Scheduled Plan Transfer Unit (STMU), Recording Program Integration Unit (RCRU). 11 is a schematic diagram of a DVR detection process in a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, a DVR detection unit (DCNU) and a Slave DVR on a DVR Hub are applied in the flow. The DVR detection unit (DCNU) includes the following steps: Step S1101: The DVR detection unit in the set top box determines whether it is a Slave DVR according to the path of the disk. If the disk path exists and is not a Hub, the status of the tag itself is Slave. DVR; Step S1102: The Slave DVR broadcasts its own address information and the current available recording capability Number AvailableRecNum to the home LAN through the adddvrinfo interface. Step S1103: After receiving the adddvrinfo broadcast message, the DVR Hub parses the message content and saves it to The file dvrinfo.xml. Step S1104: The number of available recording capabilities in the Slave DVR is broadcasted to the home LAN through the updatedvrinfo interface. Step S1105: After receiving the updatedvrinfo broadcast message, the DVR Hub parses the message content, compares it with the saved information, and updates Data in dvrinfo.xml. Step S1106: After updating the dvrinfo.xml, the DVR Hub sets whether the DVR Hub supports the recording capability enhancement function according to the number of nodes. If the number of nodes slavenum is 0, the recording capability enhancement is not supported, otherwise the recording capability is enhanced. Preferably, the number of hard disk set-top boxes in the entire home network is represented by a slavenum field in the dvrinfo.xml file structure instance, and a maximum of 256 set top boxes with hard disks can be supported. Each DVR uniquely identifies itself through Media Access Control (MAC) address and Internet Protocol (IP) address, and indicates the maximum recording capacity that can be allowed to continue to be added by AvailableRecNum. number. Preferably, after the DVR is notified to the DVR Hub by adding the interface adddvrinfo to the DVR Hub, the DVR Hub first receives the received MAC address and IP address with the dvrinfo.xml. The MAC address and IP address in the comparison are compared, and the data in adddvrinfo is added to dvrinfo.xml only when it does not exist in dvrinfo.xml. Preferably, when the number of recording capabilities of the DVR changes, the DVR Hub first informs the DVR Hub of the MAC address, the IP address, and the updated AvailableRecNum by updating the interface updatedvrinfo, and the DVR Hub first compares the received MAC address and IP address with dvrinfo. The MAC address and IP address in .xml are compared, only When the corresponding DVR is found in dvrinfo.xml, the AvailableRecNum of the corresponding DVR in dvrinfo.xml is updated. 12 is a schematic diagram of a recording capability control flow in a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the capability control unit (ACU) on the DVR Hub is applied through the ACU. All DVRs in the home can record in the home network, and the recording ability of the whole family is greatly enhanced at the same time. The process includes the following steps: Step S1201: The DVR Hub reads the slavenum in step S1106, and if the slavenum is 0, press The normal Whole Home DVR system recording process is processed, otherwise the recording capability enhancement processing is performed; Step S1202: The DVR Hub calculates the maximum recording capability MaxRAN according to the number of Slave DVRs recorded in the dvrinfo.xml, for example: The maximum recording capability calculation formula is :

MaxRAN = N*An + An; where N is the number of Slave DVRs in the home, and An is the maximum recording capacity of a single hard disk set-top box.

An can be dynamically set up based on the ability of a single set-top box to actually handle recording. Step S1203: If a recording plan is started, it is determined whether the number of recording plans on the current DVR Hub has reached An, and if the number of recordings has not been reached, the recording is started on the DVR Hub; Step S1204: If the number of recording plans on the DVR Hub has reached An, the current calculation is performed. The number of recorded programs being performed in the family, for example, the calculation formula for the mth road recording is: m = An + SCI + SC2 +... +SCn, where n is the number of Slave DVRs, and SCI is the first The current number of recorded programs of the Slave DVR,

SC2 is the current number of recorded programs of the second Slave DVR.

SCn is the current number of recorded programs of the nth slave DVR, step S1205, if m<MaxRAN, according to the number of records of the Slave DVR recorded in dvrinfo.xml, it is determined whether the Slave DVR has reached An, if less than An, The current plan is placed in the reservation plan dump unit. Preferably, in step S1204, if the determined number of Slave DVR recordable programs is 0, then the traversal of dvrinfo.xml is performed to determine the number of recordable programs of the next Slave DVR. 13 is a schematic diagram of a reservation plan dumping process in a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 13, in which a reservation plan dump unit (STMU) on the DVR Hub is applied. And the reservation plan dump unit (STMU) on the slave DVR, the process includes the following steps: Step S1301, when the condition of the step S1204 is satisfied, the reservation plan dump unit on the DVR Hub stores the reservation plan locally Reserve the schedule, and set the escaped recording mark field in the table to have a MoveFlag value of 1, and set the MovelP address to the Slave DVR address of the plan to be recorded. Step S1302: The DVR Hub is responsible for transmitting the reservation plan to the designated Slave DVR through the HTTP protocol by using the current reservation plan. Step S1303: When receiving the reservation plan forwarded by the DVR Hub, the Slave DVR parses the message and stores the reservation plan into the reservation schedule of the Slave DVR. Step S1304: The Slave DVR triggers the recording start process of the reservation plan after storing the recording plan in the local reservation schedule. Step S1305: When the DVR Hub receives the change request that the reservation plan is modified or deleted, the reservation plan change request is forwarded to the corresponding Slave DVR through the HTTP protocol. Step S1306: The Slave DVR modifies or deletes the recording plan in the Slave DVR when receiving the DVR Hub reservation plan change request. 14 is a schematic diagram of a recording program integration process in a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 14, in which a Recording Program Integration Unit (RCRU) on the DVR Hub is applied and The Recording Program Integration Unit (RCRU) on the Slave DVR, the process includes the following steps: Step S1401, a Recording Program Integration Unit (RCRU) in the Slave DVR, after the program is started to be recorded, an interface is added through the enhanced recording program, and the local The newly created recorded program data is encapsulated into the addrecinfo.xml message body; Step S1402: The Slave DVR sends the program data to the DVR Hub through the HTTP protocol. Step S1403: After receiving the recorded program data sent by the Slave DVR, the DVR Hub parses the addrecinfo.xml, and stores the program data in the program table database and the disk directory respectively. Step S1404: In the program table of the DVR Hub, the program identification field isSlaveecFlag is used to distinguish whether the program is stored in the Slave DVR. For example, 0 means stored in the DVR Hub, and 1 means stored in the Slave DVR. Step S1405: After the recording ends, the Slave DVR sends the recorded program update data to the DVR Hub through the HTTP protocol through the enhanced recorded program update interface. Step S1406: After receiving the recorded program update data sent by the Slave DVR, the DVR Hub updates the program data in the program list and the disk respectively. Preferably, in the enhanced recording program added in step S1401, the node of the message body addrecinfo.xml is in one-to-one correspondence with the field in the 0.ini, wherein 0.ini is used to record the configuration of the program information of the recorded program, and store On the local hard drive. Preferably, in the enhanced recording program update interface in step S1401, the node of the message body updaterecinfo.xml is consistent with the node in adddvrinfo.xml. 15 is a schematic diagram of an enhanced capability conflict management process in a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 15, in which an enhanced capability conflict management unit on the DVR Hub is applied ( ERAMU), the process includes the following steps: Step S1501: An enhanced capability conflict management unit on the DVR Hub, determining that the slavenum is not 0 in step S1201 and m>=MaxRAN in step S1205, searching for all the recorded in the local recorded program list Program data. Step S1502: Display all the currently recorded program information in the Whole Home DVR family on the DVR Hub according to the search result of step S1501. 16 is a schematic diagram of an enhanced recorded program playing process in a Whole Home DVR recording capability enhancement system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 16, the enhanced recorded recording program management module on the DVR Hub is applied in the process. The process includes the following steps: Step S1601: The enhanced recorded program management module on the DVR Hub adds an IPaddr field to the program table of the step S1404, and records a Slave DVR address; Step S1602: assembling the URL by IPaddr to support The underlying modules (such as STB and Slave DVR) play the programs recorded in the Slave DVR. It can be seen that, through the technical solution provided by the preferred embodiment, the recording capability of the Slave DVR is added to the Whole Home DVR, and the DVR Hub uniformly performs scheduling management of the recording capability, which greatly improves the recording capability of the Whole Home DVR system; At the same time, through the integrated program of recording programs, the DVR Hub unified management of recorded programs was solved. Industrial Applicability According to the embodiment of the present invention, a program recording plan delivered by a reservation server is received; and a program recording plan is allocated to a plurality of DVRs according to a recording capability of each DVR in the plurality of DVRs, wherein the plurality of DVRs are used The recording of the program according to the allocated program recording schedule solves the problem that the recording ability and recording efficiency of the Whole Home DVR system in the related art is low, improves the recording capability and recording efficiency of the Whole Home DVR system, and improves the user experience. Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the above modules or steps of the present invention can be implemented by a general-purpose computing device, which can be concentrated on a single computing device or distributed over a network composed of multiple computing devices. Alternatively, they may be implemented by program code executable by the computing device, such that they may be stored in the storage device by the computing device, or they may be separately fabricated into individual integrated circuit modules, or they may be Multiple modules or steps are made into a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software. The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and scope of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claim

An IPTV program recording system, comprising: a reservation server, a capability control unit, and a plurality of digital video recorder DVRs, wherein the reservation server is set to issue a program recording plan;

The capability control unit is connected to the plurality of DVRs, and configured to allocate the program recording plan to the plurality of DVRs according to a recording capability of each of the plurality of DVRs;

The plurality of DVRs are arranged to record a program according to an assigned program recording schedule.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein a first one of the plurality of DVRs comprises the capability control unit.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein each of the DVRs further comprises:

a DVR detecting unit, configured to detect whether the DVR in which the DVR detecting unit is located is the first DVR; wherein the first DVR is further configured to receive and save DVR information of other DVRs and/or the first DVR The DVR information is further configured to send the DVR information of the DVR to the first DVR, where the DVR information includes at least: node location information and recording capability information.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the capability control unit comprises:

a recording capability calculation subunit, configured to determine a recording capability of each of the DVRs according to the saved DVR information;

A recording plan assigning subunit is coupled to the recording capability calculating subunit, and configured to assign the program recording plan to the plurality of DVRs according to the determined recording capability of each of the DVRs.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein each of the DVRs further comprises: an appointment plan dump unit, wherein

The reservation plan dump unit of the first DVR is connected to the recording plan allocation subunit, and is configured to send a program recording plan assigned to the other DVR to the other DVR;

The reservation plan dump unit of the other DVR is connected to the reservation plan dump unit of the first DVR, configured to receive the allocated program recording plan, and send the program recording plan to the recording control of the other DVR unit.

The system according to claim 5, wherein the reservation plan dumping unit of the first DVR is further configured to send a program recording plan change request to the other DVR, wherein the program recording plan change request is used And indicating change information of a program recording plan assigned to the other DVR;

The reservation plan dump unit of the other DVR is further configured to receive the program recording plan change request, and send the program recording plan change request to the recording control unit of the other DVR.

The system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the recording control unit is configured to convert a program recording plan into a program recording task and execute the program recording task; and/or to record according to the received program Plan a change request, update the program recording schedule or program recording task.

The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first DVR further comprises: a capability conflict management unit configured to count the recording capabilities of the plurality of DVRs and present the conflict plan to the user .

The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each of the DVRs further comprises: a recorded program integration unit, wherein the recorded program integration unit of the first DVR, and the other DVR The recorded program integration unit and the recorded program management unit of the first DVR are connected to integrate and manage the macros recorded by the plurality of DVRs through the recorded program integration unit of the other DVR.

The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the recorded program management unit of the first DVR is further configured to: according to at least one DVR and/or at least one of the plurality of DVRs The recorded program play request of the recorded program playing unit of the set top box STB without the hard disk transmits the address information of the recorded program corresponding to the recorded program play request to the recorded program playing unit.

An IPTV program recording apparatus, comprising: a receiving module, configured to receive a program recording plan issued by a reservation server;

And an allocation module configured to allocate the program recording plan to the plurality of DVRs according to a recording capability of each of the plurality of digital video recorder DVRs, wherein the plurality of DVRs are set to record according to the allocated program recording schedule program.

12. An IPTV program recording method, comprising: receiving a program recording plan issued by a reservation server; The program recording schedule is assigned to the plurality of DVRs according to a recording capability of each of the plurality of digital video recorder DVRs, wherein the plurality of DVRs are for recording a program according to the assigned program recording schedule.