WO2024088389A1 - Video content publishing system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to a video content publishing system, which can reduce the load of a television receiver that receives metadata, such as program information published in broadcast communication. The video content publishing system comprises: a publishing system, which publishes video content and metadata; an intermediate shared server, which receives and accumulates the metadata for selecting video content, and performs conversion and sending; a transmission server, which receives the metadata that is output from the intermediate shared server, converts a plurality of thumbnails into an integrated image, performs transmission format conversion on the integrated image, and sends the metadata; and a television receiver, which receives the video content from the publishing system and receives the metadata from the transmission server. A television operating system receives the metadata and displays a picture, such that video content based on communication can be easily selected.

Description

Video content publishing system

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of Japanese patent application filed with the Japan Patent Office on October 27, 2022, application number 2022-171970, and invention name “Visual Content Distribution System”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The present application includes: a server system that publishes video content; an intermediate shared server that receives metadata for selecting video content and converts it; a transmission server that receives the metadata output from the intermediate shared server and converts it into an efficient transmission format; video content; and a receiving terminal that receives the metadata in the converted transmission format. In the transmission server of the present application, the load of a television receiver that receives the metadata can be reduced, and in addition, when displaying a screen, it can be displayed efficiently.

Background technique

In recent years, due to the evolution of the network, more and more dynamic image distribution services have been implemented. In particular, large-scale, large-screen television receivers not only receive broadcasts as before, but also connect to the network and play the distributed dynamic images, thereby becoming able to enjoy immersive videos with higher picture quality. This has become possible due to the high speed of the network and the improvement of the processing performance of the television receiver. It is expected that in the future, the opportunities for displaying and operating various video contents provided by the network using television receivers will further increase.

Under such circumstances, viewers expect a method that allows them to more easily select their favorite video content from a plurality of video contents distributed through communication. The distribution operators or providers of video content have also made efforts to make the video content easier for viewers to understand and select. For example, in order to enable viewers to watch video content continuously, efforts have been made to display the video content in a series and provide previews for the next and subsequent episodes. Recently, the following attempt has been made to further subdivide the series and explain the continuous content as a whole to the viewers in a structured state such as seasons and episodes. For example, the structure of xxx series, xxx season, and episode x can be used to promote viewers' continuous viewing.

In addition, video content providers usually use metadata to explain video content in order to let viewers know the content of the video content when watching the video content. Metadata here refers to data used to define the title, summary, performers, etc. of the video content, and can also provide image information such as thumbnails to make it easier for viewers to understand.

The above-mentioned series, seasons, and episodes can also be structured by using metadata, and it is expected that the use of structured metadata to provide dynamic image distribution content will increase further in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to support such structured metadata in television receivers that provide large-screen, gripping video content.

However, because current television receivers use remote control to select programs on a large screen, their operating systems are significantly different from those of personal computers and smartphones, and therefore they are not fully compatible with structured metadata. In the case of broadcasting, it is possible to easily select programs by using the direct button on the remote control that indicates the channel and by launching a program table or a program overview. However, when using structured metadata to select video content distributed on the Internet, it is necessary to use the remote control to continuously extract content from multiple screens such as series, seasons, and episodes, making the operability extremely poor. In addition, not all providers of video content are the same, and the structure of the content may vary. The structured metadata may be distributed in different formats, such as by episode or season, etc. It is desirable to provide a method that does not confuse viewers and allows them to easily select desired video content even when metadata of different formats is transmitted.

Summary of the invention

In current television receivers, a remote control is used to select video content from a program table or a program list. In the program information distribution system and television receiver of Japanese Special Application No. 2022-168108, when receiving structured metadata such as series, seasons, and episodes, information is added to the metadata to overcome the poor integration with the program table and program list. In addition, integration is performed to facilitate processing of different metadata sent from multiple distribution systems in the receiver. In this way, although an excellent method is proposed, a richer picture can be formed, and there is a problem of increased load on the receiver. In particular, when thumbnails are used more frequently, thumbnail images from the server will be frequently obtained. As network access increases, the load will increase and operability will decrease. In addition, in order to have a hierarchical structure, the structure of the metadata becomes complicated, and the metadata needs to be reconstructed when display processing is performed, which becomes a cause of increased load.

FIG. 13 shows a conventional example of a video distribution system based on a program information distribution system and a television receiver according to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-168108.

The distribution system 13100 is composed of a distribution content unit 13101, an encoder 13102, a distribution unit 13103, and a program information unit 13104. The video content output from the distribution content unit 13101 is compressed by the encoder 13102 and input to the distribution unit 13103. The distribution unit 13103 outputs the video and audio stream to the streaming distribution network 13400. The program information unit 13104 generates metadata for program selection and outputs it to the intermediate shared server 13500.

The distribution system 13200 and the distribution system 13300 also perform the same operation as the distribution system 13100 .

The intermediate shared server 13500 is composed of a receiving unit 13501, a program information accumulation unit 13503, and a sending unit 13502. The receiving unit 13501 receives metadata output from the distribution systems 13100, 13200, and 13300, and accumulates the metadata in the program information accumulation unit 13503. The metadata sent from each distribution system 13100, 13200, and 13300 is integrated or edited in the program information accumulation unit 13503, and then sent to the television receivers 13600 and 13700 by the sending unit 13502. In this embodiment, a configuration of three distribution systems and two television receivers is exemplified, but even if the number of distribution systems and television receivers increases, it is possible to cope with it by improving the receiving and sending capabilities of the intermediate shared server.

The television receiver 13600 is composed of a receiving unit 13603, a decoder 13602, a content display unit 13601, a program information processing unit 13604, a selection screen unit 13605, a control unit 13606, and a remote controller 13607. The receiving unit 13603 receives the video and audio stream transmitted via the streaming network 13400, and outputs it to the decoder 13602. The decoder 13602 decodes the compressed video and audio stream, restores it to the original video content, and outputs it to the content display unit 13601. On the other hand, the program information processing unit 13604 receives metadata transmitted from the intermediate shared server 13500, and outputs the metadata processing result to the selection screen unit 13605. The selection screen unit 13605 forms a screen for program selection, and outputs the result to the content display unit 13601. Here, the viewer sends a command to the control unit 13606 by using the remote controller 13607, so that a predetermined process is executed.

The television receiver 13700 includes a receiving unit 13703, a decoder 13702, a content display unit 13701, a program information processing unit 13704, a selection screen unit 13705, a control unit 13706, and a remote controller 13707. The television receiver 13700 also performs the same operation as the television receiver 13600.

Next, an example of metadata of a three-layer structure based on a program information distribution system and a television receiver according to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-168108 is shown in FIG. 14 .

The metadata used to construct the three-layer structure of series, season, and episode consists of series information 14010, season information 14020, and episode information 14030. In the series information 14010, there is a series ID, a series name, a series description, a series thumbnail, and a series genre (Genre) for externally identifying the series, and further, there is a season list for including multiple seasons. In addition, in the season information 14020, there is a season ID for externally identifying the season, and further, there are season names, season descriptions, season thumbnails, and season genres, and further, there is a season list for including multiple seasons. In addition, in the episode information 14030, there is an episode ID for externally identifying the episode, and further, there are episode names, episode descriptions, length of the content, program start time, program end time, episode thumbnails, and episode genres, and further, there is a video URL for determining the server that plays the action stream.

FIG. 15 shows an example of metadata of a three-layer structure based on a program information distribution system and a television receiver according to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-168108.

15 includes series ID 15011, season ID 15012, drama ID 15013, related program ID 15014, and service ID 15015. In addition, there are related program information 15020, video group 15030, and operator information 15040. By adding these, metadata having a hierarchical structure can be flexibly supported.

The content of the video group 15001 as an attribute of the program list information 15000 is defined as a video group 15030. The video group 15030 includes a video information list 15031, a series information list 15032, a season information list 15033, and an episode information list 15034. The video information list 15031 can contain a plurality of video information 15010 in a list format. The series information list 15032, the season information list 15033, and the episode information list 15034 can contain a plurality of series information 14010, season information 14020, and episode information 14030 shown in FIG. 14 , respectively.

Therefore, the program list information 15000 can use any one or a combination of the video information list 15031, the series information list 15032, the season information list 15033, and the drama information list 15034 to form a program list, and can flexibly correspond to the hierarchical metadata.

The operator information 15040 is composed of an operator ID 15045 , an operator name 15041 , an operator logo 15042 , usage terms 15043 , and a privacy protection (PP) list 15044 .

The operator ID 15045 is an ID for uniquely identifying a plurality of distribution systems, the operator name 15041 is a name indicating a distribution system, and the operator logo 15042 is displayed to show the distribution system to viewers in an easily understandable manner. In addition, since there are multiple distribution operators, the usage rules list 15043 for viewers when implementing the service and the privacy protection (PP) list 15044 can also be recorded in a list structure.

In the video information 15010, the related program ID 15014 is added, and the so-called related program is composed of the related program ID 15021 and the video information list 15022 as shown in the related program information 15020. The related program information 15020 is introduced to define a plurality of video contents as a whole according to the intention of the content user. The video information list 15022 inside can contain a plurality of video information 15010.

In the video information 15010, series ID 15011, season ID 15012, drama ID 15013, and service ID 15015 are further added. This makes it possible to link the video information with the three-layer structure of series, season, and drama and channel information.

As described above, in the metadata and intermediate shared server in the program information distribution system and television receiver of Japan Special Application No. 2022-168108, the three-layer structure of series, season, and episode is well integrated with the program display and program overview, and good picture display can be achieved even with a hierarchical structure.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 14, the series information, season information, and episode information can have thumbnails as their respective elements, so that a rich screen that is extremely easy to understand can be formed. However, the television receiver needs to obtain these thumbnail images from the server and display them on the screen. When the number of thumbnail images is small, there is no problem. However, if thumbnails can be provided at each level as in this example, it is possible to obtain multiple thumbnails, so the communication The load becomes very high and the processing on the TV receiver side becomes extremely slow.

In addition, as shown in FIG15, when constructing a program table, it is necessary to obtain a list of program information of a specific time and date including channel information from the program table information, and further obtain video information from the program information. For these complex hierarchical structures, they are constructed while searching for their respective IDs, and further displayed. The processing of analyzing, constructing, and displaying these metadata increases the load on the receiver, and reduces operability such as slow startup, slow screen transition, and delay in scrolling.

As described above, in the metadata and intermediate shared server in the program information distribution system and television receiver of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-168108, it is possible to cleverly integrate hierarchical metadata while displaying a program table and a program overview. However, on the other hand, there is the following problem.

1) Thumbnails can be obtained from any metadata of the hierarchical structure, and the acquisition of multiple thumbnail images increases the load on the receiver.

2) The structure of metadata is a hierarchical structure, which increases the receiver load for parsing and reconstructing the complex metadata structure.

3) As the load on these receivers increases, the startup time and screen transition time of the program table and program overview increase.

The video content distribution system of the present application includes: a server system that distributes video content; an intermediate shared server that receives metadata for selecting video content and converts it; a transmission server that receives the metadata output from the intermediate shared server and converts it into an efficient transmission format; video content; and a receiving terminal that receives the metadata based on the converted transmission format. In the transmission server of the present application, the load of a television receiver that receives the metadata can be reduced, and in addition, when displaying a screen, it can be displayed efficiently.

As a first solution, a video content distribution system is provided, comprising:

a publishing system that sends metadata containing video content and thumbnail information;

an intermediate shared server that receives and accumulates metadata for selecting video content from the distribution system and transmits the metadata;

a transmission server that receives the metadata output from the intermediate shared server, converts a plurality of thumbnail images into an integrated image and performs transmission format conversion on the integrated image and sends the metadata; and

A television receiver receives the video content from the distribution system and receives metadata from the delivery server.

As a second solution, a video content distribution system is provided, wherein the thumbnail information distributed by the distribution system includes program thumbnails, video thumbnails, series thumbnails, season thumbnails, and drama thumbnails.

As a third solution, in a video content distribution system, the delivery format of the delivery server is composed of a file group and a directory that describe the structure of the metadata.

As a fourth aspect, in a video content distribution system, the delivery server integrates thumbnail images in the delivery format for each layer, and generates an integrated image for each layer.

As a fifth solution, in a video content distribution system, the transmission format of the transmission server constitutes a metadata structure through a directory structure.

As a sixth scheme, a video content distribution system is provided, wherein the transmission format of the transmission server includes a carrier configuration file and a channel configuration file.

As a seventh solution, a video content distribution system is provided, wherein the transmission format of the transmission server includes notification information of the time when metadata is acquired.

As an eighth solution, a video content distribution system includes a maintenance file for notifying execution of maintenance in metadata of the distribution system or the transmission format of the transmission server.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a first embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is an explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is an embodiment of metadata based on the present application;

FIG4 is an embodiment of a thumbnail image based on the present application;

FIG5 is an embodiment of thumbnail information of the present application;

FIG6 is an illustration of the three-layer structure and thumbnails of the present application;

FIG. 7 is an example of a display of thumbnails of the present application;

FIG8 is an explanatory diagram of a second embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is an example of a transmission format of metadata based on the present application;

FIG10 is an embodiment of a constituent document based on the present application;

FIG. 11 is an embodiment of metadata update based on the present application;

FIG12 is an embodiment of maintenance based on the present application;

FIG13 is a diagram of an existing metadata transmission system;

FIG14 is an example of metadata of an existing three-layer structure;

FIG. 15 is an example of existing metadata.

Detailed ways

A transmission server is arranged between the intermediate shared server and the television receiver.

The thumbnail images input to the delivery server are collected and saved as one integrated image.

Thumbnail information indicating parameters for the integrated images is added to the metadata.

For a program thumbnail, a video thumbnail, a series thumbnail, a season thumbnail, or an episode thumbnail, a necessary portion is cut out from the integrated image using the thumbnail information.

Each thumbnail is constructed using a cut-out image.

Thumbnail images are integrated for each level and imported into a television receiver for each level.

When the screen hierarchy is expanded on the screen, an integrated image of the corresponding hierarchy is acquired.

·Convert the format of metadata input from the delivery server.

The transmission format pre-configures the structure of metadata using a directory structure.

By adding a carrier configuration file and a channel configuration file to the directory structure transmission format, the television receiver can omit the analysis of metadata.

Based on the metadata update file, the time to acquire metadata based on the transmission format is notified.

·Adding a maintenance file notifies that the delivery server is in a stopped state.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)

FIG1 shows a first embodiment of the present application.

In this embodiment, in contrast to the conventional example, a delivery server 1800 is connected to an intermediate shared server 1500. Television receivers 1600 and 1700 are connected to the delivery server 1800 and the stream distribution network 1400.

The distribution system 1100 is composed of a distribution content unit 1101, an encoder 1102, a distribution unit 1103, and a program information unit 1104. The video content output from the distribution content unit 1101 is compressed by the encoder 1102 and input to the distribution unit 1103. The distribution unit 1103 outputs the video and audio stream to the streaming distribution network 1400. On the other hand, the input of the program information unit 1104 The program information unit generates metadata (including thumbnail information) for program selection and outputs it to the intermediate shared server 1500.

The distribution system 1200 and the distribution system 1300 also perform the same operation as the distribution system 1100 .

The intermediate shared server is composed of a receiving unit 1501, a program information accumulation unit 1503, and a sending unit 1502. The receiving unit 1501 receives metadata output from the distribution systems 1100, 1200, and 1300, and accumulates the metadata in the program information accumulation unit 1503. The metadata sent from each distribution system is integrated and/or accumulated and/or converted into a data format in the program information accumulation unit 1503, and then sent to the transmission server 1800 by the sending unit 1502.

Here, the delivery server changes the received metadata into a predetermined delivery format and transmits the metadata to the television receivers 1600 and 1700 .

In this embodiment, a configuration in which three distribution systems and two television receivers are provided is illustrated; however, even if the number of distribution systems and television receivers increases, it is possible to cope with the increase by improving the reception and transmission capabilities of the intermediate shared server and the transmission server.

The television receiver 1600 is composed of a receiving unit 1603, a decoder 1602, a content display unit 1601, a program information processing unit 1604, a selection screen unit 1605, a control unit 1606, and a remote controller 1607. The receiving unit 1603 receives the video and audio stream transmitted via the streaming network 1400, and outputs it to the decoder 1602. The decoder decodes the compressed video and audio stream, restores the original video content, and outputs it to the content display unit 1601. On the other hand, the program information processing unit 1604 receives metadata transmitted from the transmission server 1800, and outputs the metadata processing result to the selection screen unit 1605. The selection screen unit 1605 forms a screen for program selection, and outputs the result to the content display unit 1601. Here, the viewer sends a command to the control unit 1606 by using the remote controller 1607, so that a predetermined process is executed.

The television receiver 1700 includes a receiving unit 1703, a decoder 1702, a content display unit 1701, a program information processing unit 1704, a selection screen unit 1705, a control unit 1706, and a remote controller 1707. The television receiver 1700 also performs the same operation as the television receiver 1600.

FIG. 2 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the first embodiment of the present application.

The transmission server 2800 (1800 in FIG. 1) is connected to the intermediate server 2500 (1500 in FIG. 1), and the receiving unit 2801 receives metadata transmitted from the intermediate server 2500 (1500 in FIG. 1), and outputs the received metadata to the format processing unit 2802. The format processing unit outputs the thumbnail image to the integrated image accumulation unit 2803, and outputs the metadata after format conversion to the sending unit 2804. In the integrated image accumulation unit 2803, a plurality of thumbnail images are integrated into one image, and then output to the transceiver unit 2805. In addition, the transceiver unit 2805 is connected to the television receivers 2600 and 2700, and a request signal for the integrated image of the television receivers 2600 and 2700 is transmitted to the transceiver unit 2805. The transceiver unit 2805 takes out the integrated image from the integrated image accumulation unit 2803 according to the request signal, and transmits it to the television receivers 2600 and 2700.

An example of metadata based on the present application is shown in Fig. 3. Thumbnail information 3000 and metadata update information 3100 are added to the existing metadata.

The thumbnail information includes, as attributes, thumbnail URL 3001, integrated image width 3002, integrated image height 3003, number of vertical tiles 3004, number of horizontal tiles 3005, tile start number 3006, and total number of tiles 3007. Metadata update information 3100 includes dynamic image content update 3101 and metadata update 3102.

The program information 3300 has a program thumbnail 3302 as an attribute. However, unlike the conventional program thumbnail, the program thumbnail 3302 is composed of the thumbnail information 3000. That is, the program thumbnail 3302 has a thumbnail URL 3001, an integrated image width 3002, an integrated image height 3003, a number of vertical grid blocks 3004, a number of horizontal grid blocks 3005, and a grid size 3006. The block start number is 3006 and the total number of blocks is 3007.

Similarly, the video thumbnail 3401 of the video information 3400 is also composed of the thumbnail information 3000. Therefore, the video thumbnail 3401 also has thumbnail URL 3001, integrated image width 3002, integrated image height 3003, number of vertical grid blocks 3004, number of horizontal grid blocks 3005, grid block start number 3006, and total number of grid blocks 3007 as attributes.

Metadata update information 3100 is composed of video content update 3101 and metadata update 3102. When the distribution system updates metadata, a value is set. Usually, a value indicating no change is set, and when there is an update, a value indicating a change is set.

The metadata update is sent from each distribution system, and therefore, by viewing the metadata update information, the intermediate shared server can confirm whether or not there is an update in each distribution system.

FIG4 shows an embodiment of thumbnails according to the present application. Thumbnail information 4400 is the same as thumbnail information 3000 described in FIG3 . Here, series thumbnails 4101 included in series information 4100 are composed of thumbnail information 4400. Similarly, season thumbnails 4201 included in season information 4200 are composed of thumbnail information 4400. Furthermore, episode thumbnails 4201 included in episode information 4300 are composed of thumbnail information 4400.

As described above, the program thumbnails, video thumbnails, series thumbnails, season thumbnails, and drama thumbnails shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are all composed of thumbnail information.

An embodiment of thumbnail information of the present application is shown in Fig. 5. Thumbnail information 5000 includes image parameters of an integrated image 5100 of a thumbnail, namely, integrated image width 5101, integrated image height 5102, number of vertical grid blocks 5103, number of horizontal grid blocks 5104, grid block start number 5105, and total number of grid blocks 5106. The integrated image is a single image obtained by integrating a plurality of thumbnail images, and is described in the above manner by the thumbnail information 5000.

When the thumbnail 5201 of the content 1A of the program table 5200 is drawn in the television receiver based on the integrated image 5100 of the thumbnails, a predetermined thumbnail is cut out based on the attributes of the video thumbnail 5202 recorded in the video information representing the content 1A, that is, the integrated image width 5101, the integrated image height 5102, the number of vertical grid blocks 5103, the number of horizontal grid blocks 5104, the grid start number 5105, and the total number of grid blocks 5106, and displayed on the display screen 5200 of the program table. Here, the integrated image 5100 of the thumbnails is temporarily imported into the television receiver, so that a plurality of thumbnails become one image, and the communication is completed in one time. Therefore, even if a plurality of thumbnails are imported, the number of communications can be greatly reduced.

Next, the process of creating the thumbnail integrated image 5100 is described. The thumbnail images of the episodes transmitted from the intermediate shared server shown in FIG2 are received in the receiving unit 2801 of the transmission server 2800, and sent to the format processing unit 2802. In the format processing unit 2802, the transmitted thumbnail images are sent to the integrated image accumulation unit 2803. In the integrated image accumulation unit 2803, the thumbnail images of the respective episodes are combined to form the integrated image 5100 shown in FIG5.

The above describes the process of creating thumbnail images of dramas, but thumbnail images of series, seasons, etc. can also be created in the same manner.

FIG6 shows an explanatory diagram of the three-layer structure and thumbnails of the present application. Season information 6100, 6200, and 6300 are located below series information 6000. Further, drama information 6101, 6102, and 6103 exist below season information 6100. In addition, drama information 6201, 6202, and 6203 exist below season information 6200. Drama information 6301, 6302, and 6303 exist below season information 6300. When the metadata constituting such a hierarchical structure is used to depict thumbnails, the thumbnails 6401, 6402, and 6403 for the season constitute an integrated image, and the thumbnails 6411, 6412, and 6413 for the drama constitute an integrated image, and the thumbnails 6431, 6432, and 6433 for the drama constitute an integrated image. In this way, by constituting an integrated image with thumbnail images of each layer, it is possible to import it into a television receiver according to each layer. In this way, when the integrated image is too large to be loaded into the television receiver at once, it can be integrated with the displayed screen by loading it in each layer.

Next, the process of creating a hierarchical structure from series information, season information, and episode information is described using FIG. 2 and FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows the structure of series information, season information, and episode information sent from the intermediate shared server 2500. Series information 4100 has a season list 4102, which constitutes a collection of season information 4200 in the form of a list. Season information 4200 has an episode list 4202, which constitutes a collection of episode information 4300 in the form of a list. The above processing is implemented by the format processing unit 2802 shown in FIG. 2.

Next, the series information 4100 shown in FIG4 has a series thumbnail 4101, the season 4200 has a season thumbnail 4201, and the drama information 4300 has a drama thumbnail 4301. The thumbnail images adapted to the above hierarchical structures are separated by the format processing unit 2802 and input to the integrated image accumulation unit 2803 shown in FIG2. In the integrated image accumulation unit 2803, the thumbnail images for the season obtained from the season information are collected to form an integrated image. In addition, the drama thumbnail images obtained from the drama images are collected to form an integrated image.

Next, the process of receiving the integrated thumbnail image shown in FIG. 6 and displaying it on the screen will be described using FIG. 2. The television receiver 2600 shown in FIG. 2 has an update transceiver 2608. The update transceiver 2608 is connected to the transceiver 2805 of the transmission server 2800. In response to the transmission request of the update transceiver 2608, the television receiver 2600 obtains an integrated image formed by summarizing the thumbnail images. The integrated image received in the update transceiver 2608 is sent to the selection screen unit 2605 via the control unit 2606. Here, the selection screen unit 2605 cuts out necessary thumbnail images from the integrated image to form a display screen.

On the other hand, the program information processing unit 2604 of the television receiver 2600 is connected to the transmission unit 2804 of the transmission server 2800 to receive metadata. The thumbnail information 3000 shown in FIG. 3 is stored in the received metadata, and the parameters of the integrated image of the thumbnail information 3000 corresponding to the thumbnail image are sent to the selection screen unit 2605 of the television receiver 2600. The selection screen unit 26050 cuts out necessary thumbnail images from the integrated image based on the parameters of the integrated image, forms a display screen, and sends it to the content display unit 2601. The content display unit 2601 displays the specified thumbnail image.

FIG. 7 shows an example of thumbnail display in a television receiver.

In the case of the program list screen 7000, a plurality of episode thumbnails are arranged to form a screen. In this case, by importing only an integrated image constituting the episode thumbnails into the television receiver, they can be displayed at once. On the other hand, in the mixed screen 7100 that displays the season and the episode at once, by importing an integrated image having the season thumbnails and the episode thumbnails into the television receiver, they can be displayed at once.

The above operation is described in detail with reference to FIG. 2. The television receiver 2600 shown in FIG. 2 includes an update transceiver 2608. The update transceiver 2608 is connected to the transceiver 2805 of the transmission server 2800. In response to a transmission request from the update transceiver 2608, the television receiver 2600 acquires an integrated image formed by aggregating thumbnail images. The integrated image received in the update transceiver 2608 is transmitted to the selection screen unit 2605 via the control unit 2606. Here, the selection screen unit 2605 cuts out necessary thumbnail images from the integrated image to form a display screen.

On the other hand, the program information processing unit 2604 of the television receiver 2600 is connected to the transmission unit 2804 of the transmission server 2800 to receive metadata. Here, the viewer uses the remote controller 2607 to select the desired screen display. The command of the remote controller 2607 is input to the control unit 2606, and the desired display screen is selected. When the program list is selected, the program list screen 7000 shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. In the program list screen 7000, thumbnail images 7011 to 7033 corresponding to each content cut out from the integrated image are displayed.

When the viewer selects the mixed screen using the remote controller 2607, a mixed screen 7100 shown in Fig. 7 is displayed. Series, seasons, and episodes are mixed and displayed in the mixed screen 7100. Appropriate thumbnail images are displayed according to the hierarchical structure shown in Fig. 6.

In the screen selection unit 2605 of the television receiver 2600, the thumbnail images 7100 and 7200 representing the series are arranged as the top layer in the mixed screen 7100. In addition, thumbnail images 7101 to 7103 representing the episode images are arranged as the top layer. The thumbnail images 7201 to 7203 are configured as the lowest layer of the hierarchical structure. The display screen having the thumbnail images configured in the selection screen portion 2605 is transferred to the content display portion 2601, and a predetermined screen is displayed.

FIG8 is an explanatory diagram of a second embodiment of the present application.

A metadata update indicator 8804 is added to the transmission server 8800. In addition, the distribution systems 8100, 8200, 8300, the intermediate shared server 8500, and the stream distribution network 8400 perform the same operations as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

The transmission server 8800 is composed of a receiving unit 8801, a format processing unit 8802, an integrated image accumulation unit 8803, a sending unit 8805, a transceiver unit 8806, and a metadata update identification unit 8804.

Here, the metadata update identification unit 8804 obtains the metadata update information 3100 shown in FIG. 3 .

The metadata update information is sent by the publishing systems 8100, 8200, and 8300, and is received by the transmission server 8800 via the intermediate shared server 8500. The metadata received by the receiving unit 8801 of the transmission server 8800 is input to the format processing unit 8802, and the metadata update information is extracted from the metadata in the format processing unit and input to the metadata update identification unit 8804.

In the format processing unit 8802 , the metadata input from the receiving unit 8801 is converted into a prescribed format and output to the sending unit 8805 .

FIG. 9 shows an example of the transmission format of metadata according to the second embodiment of the present application.

In the first level of the root 9000, there are an operator configuration file 9001, a metadata update file 9002, a maintenance file 9003, an operator directory 9100, and an operator directory 9200. Furthermore, under the operator directory 9100, there are a channel configuration file 9101, a program table directory 9102, and a program list directory 9301. Under the program directory 9102, there are a channel directory 9103 and a channel directory 9203. Under the channel directory 9103, there is a program information file 9104 of x year x month x day, which includes program information 9105 and video information 9106. Similarly, in the program information file 9109 of x year x month x day, there are program information 9110 and video information 9111.

On the other hand, the video group file 9310 under the program list directory 9301 includes video information 9311, episode information 9312, season information 9313, and series information 9314.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a configuration file according to the second example of the present application.

The operator configuration file 10000 (9001 in FIG. 9 ) includes operator information 10100 and operator information 10200. The operator information 10100 includes operator ID 10101, operator name 10102, operator logo 10103, usage rules list 10104, and PP list 10105 as attributes. The operator information 10200 includes operator ID 10201, operator name 10202, operator logo 10203, usage rules list 10204, and PP list 10205 as attributes. Here, the value of operator ID 10101 is used as the directory name of the operator directory 10600. In addition, the value of operator ID 10201 is used as the directory name of the operator directory 10700.

In this way, by configuring a carrier directory with a plurality of distributing carrier information according to the carrier ID, a place for storing the metadata information uniquely for each carrier is ensured.

Generally, a distribution company corresponds to a distribution system, and by creating a directory structure for each company for programs of a plurality of distribution systems as described above, it is possible to reduce processing in a television receiver.

Next, the channel configuration file 10500 (9101 in FIG. 9) will be described.

The channel configuration file 10500 includes channel information 10300 and 10400. The channel information 10300 includes a service ID 10301, a service name 10302, a service tag 10303, and a list 10304 of program information on x year x month x day. The channel information 10400 includes a service ID 10401, a service name 10402, a service tag 10403, and a list 10404 of program information on x year x month x day.

Here, the value of the service ID 10301 included in the channel information 10300 is used as the directory name of the channel directory 10602. In addition, the service ID 10401 included in the channel information 10400 is used as the directory name of the channel directory 10603.

In this way, by configuring a channel list with a plurality of channel information according to the service ID, a place for storing metadata information uniquely for each channel is ensured.

In the channel directory 10602, there is a program information file 10604 of x year x month x day, and program information 10305 and 10306 of x year x month x day contained in the list 10304 of program information of x year x month x day are recorded. These program information 10305 and 10306 of x year x month x day are expanded and placed under the channel directory 10602 as program information files 10604 and 10605 of x year x month x day.

Similarly, in the channel directory 10603, there are program information files 10606 and 10607 of x-year-x-month-x-day, and program information 10405 and 10406 of x-year-x-month-x-day contained in the list 10404 of program information of x-year-x-month-x-day. These program information 10405 and 10406 of x-year-x-month-x-day are expanded and placed under the channel directory 10603 as program information files 10606 and 10607 of x-year-x-month-x-day.

As described above, by converting the metadata into the form of the transmission format based on the present application in advance in the transmission server, it is not necessary to perform the structural analysis of the metadata on the TV receiver side, which can greatly reduce the load on the TV receiver. In addition, when displaying in the TV receiver, when displaying the program table, for the program table directory, the information of the channels and programs constituting the program table can also be displayed according to the directory structure, and the processing of displaying from the metadata can be easily performed.

Similarly, regarding the program list, since the necessary information is included below the program list information list in the operator directory, the display processing in the television receiver is facilitated.

FIG. 11 shows an example of updating metadata according to the second example of the present application.

The metadata update file 11000 is composed of channel information 11100, 11200, and 11300. The channel information 11100 includes metadata update information 11101 as an attribute, and the metadata update information 11101 is composed of a video content update 11102 and a metadata update 11103.

The channel information 11200 includes metadata update information 11201 as an attribute. The metadata update information 11201 includes a dynamic image content update 11202 and a metadata update 11203 .

The channel information 11300 includes metadata update information 11301 as an attribute. The metadata update information 11301 includes a dynamic image content update 11302 and a metadata update 11303 .

The intermediate shared server 11700 integrates the metadata sent from each distribution system. Channel information is also integrated and sent to the transmission server 11500. In the transmission server 11500, the receiving unit 11401 receives the metadata and inputs it to the format processing unit 11402. The format processing unit 11402 inputs each channel information to the metadata update identification unit 11500. In the metadata update identification unit 11500, update identifications 11501, 11502, and 11503 correspond to the metadata update information 11100, 11200, and 11300 of each channel. When the values of the dynamic image content update and metadata update are changed to the values of the metadata update information, the identification indicating the change is erected on the update identifications 11501, 11502, and 11503. In the representative update identification unit 11504, the values of each update identification are checked. When all the update identifications indicate an update, it is considered that the update has been completed, and a notification of the update is notified to the transceiver 11404. The representative update identification unit 11504 has a timer function, and when one or more updates occur within a predetermined time, similarly, a notification of the update is notified to the transmission and reception unit 11404.

When notified of the update, the television receiver 11600 acquires new metadata in a changed transmission format via the transmission unit 11403 of the transmission server 11500 .

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of maintenance based on the present application.

The maintenance file 12000 is composed of a maintenance notice start time 12001, a maintenance start time 12002, a maintenance end time 12003, and a notification message to the user 12004. The maintenance file 12000 is used to notify viewers of a temporary service stop when the transmission server or the intermediate shared server is maintained. When the time recorded in the maintenance notice start time 12001 recorded in the maintenance file 12000 is reached, a pop-up window is displayed on the program list screen 20160 in the television receiver, and a maintenance screen 12300 is displayed. The maintenance start and end times are notified using the values of the maintenance start time 12002 and the maintenance end time 12003.

In addition, in the present application, an embodiment using the transmission server 1800 of Figure 1 is given, and the functions of the transmission server 1800 can also be implemented in the intermediate shared server 1500.

The above maintenance operation will be described using FIG. 2. Normally, metadata is transmitted from the transmission unit 2804 to the transmission server 2800, and the metadata is received in the program information processing unit 2604 of the television receiver 2600. When the transmission server 2800 enters the maintenance mode, the transmission unit 2804 transmits the maintenance file 12000 shown in FIG. 12. The program information processing unit 2604 of the television receiver 2600 that has received the maintenance file 12000 detects the receipt of the maintenance file 12000 shown in FIG. 12 in addition to the normal metadata reception. In the program information processing unit 2604, based on the maintenance file 12000 shown in FIG. 12, a message 12300 indicating maintenance is created based on the maintenance start time 12002, the maintenance end time 12003, and the user notification message 12004. The created maintenance message is transmitted from the program information processing unit 2604 to the selection screen unit 2605, and a maintenance screen is formed. The maintenance screen is further transferred from the selection screen portion 2605 to the content display portion 2601 and is displayed as an overlay at the top.

[Note 1]

The present application includes: a server system that publishes video content; an intermediate shared server that receives metadata for selecting video content and converts it; a transmission server that receives metadata output from the intermediate shared server and converts it into an efficient transmission format; video content; and a receiving terminal that receives the metadata in the converted transmission format. In the transmission server of the present application, the load on the television receiver that receives the metadata can be reduced, and in addition, when the screen is displayed, it can be displayed efficiently. In the display of thumbnails of the present application, in the transmission server, multiple thumbnails sent are aggregated and set to a state of one image. The television receiver side obtains the thumbnail images aggregated in the transmission server, thereby greatly reducing the number of communications, thereby solving the above 1).

Hereinafter, an image obtained by collecting a plurality of thumbnail images is referred to as an integrated image.

In addition, in the method of transmitting metadata based on the transmission format of the present application, the metadata can be displayed without detailed metadata analysis on the TV receiver side according to the file group and directory structure that pre-describe the metadata structure, thereby solving the above 2). By combining these two solutions, the receiver load is reduced, and as a result, the above 3) is solved.

[Note 2]

· By configuring a transmission server, thumbnail images are aggregated, converted into integrated images, and then sent to a television receiver, thereby reducing the load on the television receiver.

In order to efficiently display the integrated image, thumbnail information is added to the metadata.

By using the thumbnail information of the program thumbnail, video thumbnail, series thumbnail, series thumbnail, and episode thumbnail, a program table and a program overview can be efficiently displayed using an integrated image.

The thumbnail images are integrated for each level, an integrated image is generated for each level, and the television receiver imports the integrated image for each level.

Utilize the delivery server to convert the delivery format of metadata.

The transmission format pre-configures the structure of metadata in a directory structure.

· In the transmission format of the directory structure, the number of TV channels is reduced by adding the operator configuration file and the channel configuration file. Parsing of metadata in the receiver.

Based on the metadata update file, the time to acquire metadata based on the transmission format is notified.

·Adding a maintenance file notifies that the delivery server is in a stopped state.

Claims (8)

1. A video content publishing system, wherein the video content publishing system comprises:

   a publishing system that sends metadata containing video content and thumbnail information;

   an intermediate shared server that receives and accumulates metadata for selecting video content from the distribution system and transmits the metadata;

   a transmission server that receives the metadata output from the intermediate shared server, converts a plurality of thumbnail images into an integrated image and performs transmission format conversion on the integrated image and sends the metadata; and

   A television receiver receives the video content from the distribution system and receives metadata from the delivery server.
2. The video content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein:

   The thumbnail information published by the publishing system includes program thumbnails, video thumbnails, series thumbnails, season thumbnails, and drama thumbnails.
3. The video content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein:

   The delivery format of the delivery server is composed of a file group and a directory that describe the structure of the metadata.
4. The video content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein:

   The delivery server integrates the thumbnail images in the delivery format for each hierarchy, and generates an integrated image for each hierarchy.
5. The video content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein:

   The delivery format of the delivery server constitutes a structure of metadata by a directory structure.
6. The video content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein:

   The delivery format of the delivery server includes an operator configuration file and a channel configuration file.
7. The video content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein:

   The transmission format of the transmission server includes notification information of the time when metadata is acquired.
8. The video content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein:

   The metadata of the distribution system or the delivery format of the delivery server includes a maintenance file for notifying that maintenance is to be performed.