KR20100047830A - Appratus for providing interactive service in ubiquitous environment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for encoding interactive contents is provided to prevent side effects and exception cases due to a shape change, thereby shortening a service launching period and facilitating a service change. CONSTITUTION: An information generating end(300) receives contents from an information providing end(400) including contents providing media. The information generating end processes the contents to realize a contents service screen and/or a contents service control function and transmit them to a receiving end. The network performs user authentication or network load distribution. The receiving end includes receiving terminals.

Description

Apparatus for providing interactive content service in ubiquitous environment {Appratus for providing interactive service in ubiquitous environment}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for providing a bidirectional content service in a ubiquitous environment, and more particularly, to an apparatus for providing a bidirectional content service in a ubiquitous environment that can be serviced regardless of matching between platforms and types of contents in implementing an interactive content service. It is about.

In the age of convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications, the environment of using multimedia is changing due to the development of technology, diversification of contents supply and demand of viewers.

For example, the transition from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting, and the broadcasting media are diversifying into the so-called IP-TV service and DMB service, which provide multimedia data using cable broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, and high-speed communication networks. .

In such a digital broadcasting communication environment, not only the transmission of the existing A / V broadcasting signals but also various digital broadcasting applications and additional data can be transmitted, and the interworking service is implemented and provided by interworking with a network.

These interactive services play a very important role in the settlement of digital broadcasting and service expansion in that they can be easily used by viewers through familiar receiving terminals such as TVs and set-top boxes (STBs).

However, digital broadcasting divides the A / V and broadcast service signals decoded in the headend (H / E) system into fixed packet sizes within a specified bandwidth, transmits them, and combines them on the receiver side to process them as digital broadcast services. At this time, the processing of multiple channels and many programs and the execution of applications are processed simultaneously.

In particular, in the case of a service that is not stored in the receiving terminal, a new whole download to the network and a process of executing it are performed. In this case, transmission and execution speed can be reduced. In addition, a packet may be lost in the middle, which may make it impossible to execute a service application. In addition, a problem of being unable to provide high resolution and various services due to low specifications of the receiving terminal has been raised.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is a number of problems that are difficult to solve in the development of contents and use of services in digital broadcasting communication services.

In the development of contents for service use, the contents are processed and delivered so that they can be easily used by the receiving terminal. Low quality service due to difficulty of content compatibility, bandwidth of network, limitation of content usage capacity due to low specification of receiving terminal, decrease of execution speed of contents, difficulty of matching service contents in receiving terminal, in service terminal when changing service contents The present invention aims to provide an interactive content service providing device in a ubiquitous environment that can solve side effect occurrences and recombination issues.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for providing a bidirectional content service in a ubiquitous environment, wherein a content service screen and / or content is received at a receiving end by receiving content transmitted from an information providing end including a content providing medium. An information generation unit for processing and delivering the service control function; And a network providing communication between the information generating end and the receiving end.

As a second aspect for achieving the above technical problem, the present invention provides a device for providing a bidirectional content service in a ubiquitous environment, and receives content transmitted from a content providing medium to control content service screens and / or content service in a plurality of receiving terminals. A ubiquitous server that processes and delivers functions to implement functions; And a network providing communication between the ubiquitous server and the plurality of receiving terminals.

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained in a broadcast communication service as an embodiment.

Platform operators offer the following benefits regardless of the technology standards between media: First of all, easy compatibility of contents, and easy compatibility of infinite web contents (conversion of contents by only website address is possible) are possible.

Accordingly, it is easy to unify management of contents information and provide a service (the advantage of MDP service). This enables infinite expansion of content regardless of the specification of the receiving terminal. That is, although there was a limitation of contents stored and serviced in the receiving terminal due to hardware limitations such as storage-memory and RAM of the receiving terminal, the restriction on this may be removed.

Therefore, it is possible to secure a low cost budget due to the receiving terminal. As a result, the content matching period of the receiving terminal is shortened. That is, in the existing service, various matching problems may occur when the content service is changed in the receiving terminal, but side effects and exceptions due to the shape change may be prevented in advance. As a result, the service launching period is shortened and service change is easy.

The following effects are provided to users and viewers.

First, it is possible to improve performance of a receiving terminal, provide a personal broadcasting method, and provide general-purpose contents of a multi-media. This is possible by using the present invention, One Source Multi Use between media, easy compatibility of web contents, shortening of service development period, and matching of receiving terminals.

It is possible to apply contents to broadcast communication providers immediately regardless of the characteristics of the platform or media, and it is possible to easily configure and change the policy and planning for the service because the method of receiving contents from the CP and DP is simplified.

Through these effects, it is easy to apply to each medium in the ubiquitous era.

In addition, companies that provide content services, such as CP and DP, can easily apply the service upload method is easy and immediately applicable, there is an effect that the additional cost of the service matching cost and change is reduced. On the contrary, since the service can be applied regardless of the platform and the medium, the development cost, which was double or triple, can be drastically reduced.

Consumers can access a variety of content and can also broadcast privately, so they can take an active position as a prosumer who can provide information and produce at the same time, rather than just consuming information.

Digital multimedia services are mainly composed of a closed so-called World Garden of service providers. Although the service of the world garden type is an easy way for the service provider to lead the billing and the service policy, there is a problem such as the absurd charging of the absence of the content from the user's point of view, but using the system of the present invention, the world garden and vice versa It is possible to effectively configure the open content-based services that can be solved to solve these problems, it is possible to expand the digital market in the ubiquitous era.

1 is a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a detailed block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating encoding by user input.
4 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of a receiving terminal.
5 is a flowchart showing a new service content generation procedure.
6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a service for each medium that can be executed by the flexible browser.
7 to 9 show examples of generating new service content.
10 is a flowchart showing a usage procedure of the flexible browser.
11 and 12 are diagrams showing an example of utilization of the flexible browser.
13 is a screen diagram illustrating an example of a content encoding method.
14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of encoding changed response information.
15 is a diagram illustrating an example of encoding response information for a fixed region.
16 and 17 illustrate another example of encoding response information for a fixed region.
18 is a flowchart illustrating pop-up processing of open content in a flexible browser.
19 is a diagram illustrating an example of synchronization between a remote control event and a server content function.
20 and 21 are diagrams illustrating another example of synchronization between a remote control event and a server content function.
22 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of mapping screen division information by a number button.
23 is a diagram illustrating a numeric keypad input unit of an input device.
24 is a screen diagram showing an example applied to the Go service.
25 is a screen diagram illustrating an example of divided navigation of a website in open content.
26 is a flowchart showing a navigation method.
27 is a block diagram showing a configuration for personalized broadcasting.
28 is a flowchart showing the flow of the system configuration for personalized broadcasting.
29 is a screen diagram illustrating an example of integrating an event with a normal system.
30 to 33 are screen diagrams illustrating an example of a detailed schedule in one piece of content.
34 is a flowchart showing the dispersion method of the dispersion processing unit.

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

While the invention allows for various modifications and variations, specific embodiments thereof are illustrated by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. However, it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, but rather the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives consistent with the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and / or regions, such elements, components, regions, layers and / or regions may be used in these terms. It will be understood that it should not be limited by.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the broadcasting communication system and the receiving terminal device described as an example are applied to all devices related to the broadcasting communication system such as a personal computer, a PCTV, a set-top box, a PVR or a DVR, including a TV. However, it is not limited to any particular system and hardware component.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to any specific media because it applies to all digital content services serviced by digital TV, VOD, AOD, Internet service, digital home service, or terminal using digital storage media of PVR and DVR.

As shown in FIG. 1, the entire system of the present embodiment is divided into four parts: a receiving end 100, a network 200, an information generating end 300, and an information providing end 400. Of these, the information generation stage 300 includes a ubiquitous server 310.

The receiving terminal 100 includes a plurality of receiving terminals 110, and the receiving terminal 110 including a remote broadcasting client regardless of a medium such as terrestrial, satellite, cable broadcasting, DMB, WIBRO, WWW, PDA, etc. is a ubiquitous server ( A device that provides a service screen and a function by receiving the content delivered from 310.

The receiving terminal 110, the flexible browser 120 for executing the content received from the ubiquitous server 310 is located. The flexible browser 120 communicates with the ubiquitous server 310 to perform an appropriate function regardless of the receiving terminal 110 for each medium.

The network 200 may be used as a part that is responsible for the communication between the information generating end 300 and the receiving end 100, the gateway 210 is a user authentication and network load balancing (load distribution) Can perform the function of.

As described above, the information generating unit 300 provides a service screen and a function to the receiving end 100 using the contents provided by the information providing unit 400.

A distributed processor 320 and a content manager 330 may be added to the information generator 300. The distribution processor 320 may perform a function of load balancing (channel management, session management, service resource management). An example is channel distribution in a broadcast service.

Meanwhile, the information providing unit 400 may be configured with a medium and a system for providing information to various media such as terrestrial, satellite, cable broadcasting, DMB, WIBRO, WWW, PDA, and the like as the medium of the receiving terminal 100. .

In the content providing medium 410 included in the information providing unit 400, the authoring unit 420 may be provided in the form of H / W and S / W, so that it is possible to easily convert data and upload content. The content uploaded and registered in this way may share service revenue with a content providing medium under the management of the entire service provider.

The detailed configuration of the information generating unit 300 is as follows.

First, the broadcast H / E (head end) 340 manages a broadcast source (Audio / Vieor / Data), compresses and multiplexes it, and transmits it to the receiving terminal 110 through a network. In addition, the event management server 350 manages channels and schedules of broadcast programs, matches the source of the broadcast H / E 340, compresses and multiplexes them, and delivers them to the receiving terminal 110.

Accordingly, as described above, the receiving terminal 110 processes the broadcast source received from the broadcast H / E 340 to provide a service to the user.

Here, the ubiquitous server 310 may map the schedule and organization information of the linked service to be provided using the event information of the event management server 350.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main function and detailed configuration of the information generating unit 300 include a virtual drive management unit 311 in the ubiquitous server 310, which corresponds to the type of signal input from the receiving terminal 110. This part analyzes the values for each request and manages the generated data for each request.

As an example of such a virtual drive management unit 311, it is possible to perform processing for each user input requested to the ubiquitous server 310 by using the MSHTML Component, WebBrowser Component and the like.

In this case, the user input is generated through the input interface of the receiving terminal 110 for each medium, and the virtual drive manager 311 analyzes the input signal received from the receiving terminal 110 and generates response information thereto.

Subsequently, the virtual drive manager 311 generates video information and audio information on the screen as response information based on the above-described input signal and transmits the response information to the encoding processor 312.

The encoding processor 312 then protocolizes the source and meta data to be transmitted by the flexible browser 120 (see FIG. 1). Therefore, the medium is encoded into appropriate information according to the attributes of the receiving terminal 110 for each medium.

The service provided to the user may include content information such as A / V / D and mapping information for scheduling the content information. The event manager 313 may include instruction information such as channel information, program schedule information such as programming information, content management information, and screen configuration information of the transmitted content itself. In addition, it can function to interwork with other systems. For example, a function of interworking the organization information of the broadcasting system may be provided with an event management server of the channel information and schedule information system of the content.

As described above, the basic flow of the information encoding method by the user input made by the encoding processor 312 included in the ubiquitous server 310 is as shown in FIG. 3.

First, when user input information is transmitted, user input information is generated through an input interface of the receiving terminal 110. Such input information is requested to the ubiquitous server 310 through the network 200 and transferred to the virtual drive manager 311.

In this case, the input information may be different for each medium, but generally, the input information may include navigation information and other additional information.

Navigation information may be divided into direction information and function information such as up / down / left / right / confirmation / number buttons and color keys, and other additional information is generated by the receiving terminal 110 and transmitted. to be.

When the user input information is transmitted as described above, the input signal is analyzed (S10). At this time, the virtual drive manager 311 analyzes the input signal to execute the service of the service manager 331 included in the content manager 330 to generate response information. Each input signal may be managed for each receiving terminal 110 and processed without overlapping.

Thereafter, response information about the user input information is generated (S11). Such response information may include video and audio information. In this case, the video information may be divided into screen configuration information, an image, and a text.

The response information initially performs a full response, and may be transmitted only for a portion that is changed in a later process.

In this case, the subject generating the response information may manage the entire service in the content manager 330 using a service type such as a walled garden. The virtual drive manager 311 may execute a service of the content manager 330 and receive execution information. However, the open service type such as the web may also be configured to generate execution information by directly executing a service in the virtual drive manager 311.

The generated response information is encoded along with other additional information (S12) and transmitted to the distribution processor 320. The other additional information may include event information such as synchronization information and organizational information of the response information. It also includes information such as interworking information constituting each service. The event manager 313 generates encoding information by referring to channel and program information of the corresponding content.

Unique characteristics (screen configuration method, screen resolution, etc.) of the reception terminal 110 for each medium may exist. In this way, encoding is performed in consideration of characteristics of each medium.

* The encoded information is transmitted to the distribution processor 320 (S13). The distribution processor 320 transmits the content information to the receiving terminal 110 through the gateway 210 to the network 200.

The detailed configuration of the content manager 330 will now be described with reference to FIG. 2. First, the service manager 331 becomes a part for managing the shape of a service source delivered to the ubiquitous server 310. It also plays a role in driving content in the configuration of service provider internal services such as the World Garden service.

The content collector 332 manages / analyzes the usage information of each service collected by the ubiquitous server 310. And service contents can be uploaded from CP and data providers. When uploading such service content, it is possible to verify whether the configuration of the content is normal (in some cases, the upload processing unit 421 of the authoring unit 420 may be verified).

In addition, information can be obtained from the external data system 360 and used. An example of an external data system is a subscriber information system (SMS), which is a system for managing subscriber information using a service of an operator.

The content collector 332 may use 1: 1 target service and marketing such as target advertisement by using subscriber information and service usage information of the SMS of the external data system 360. In addition, the service usage information may be used to configure a system for distributing service usage fees with information providers such as CP and DP (MDP service).

The composition of the authoring unit 420 is shown in a detailed configuration in the application number 10-2004-0016707 filed by the applicant.

The authoring engine 422 of the authoring unit 420 can use a template, and can easily generate service content through a simple operation using a component provided by the component manager 423.

The authoring engine 422 may provide various management functions such as image, text, sound control, and video editing, and may also provide application application functions. The application generated through the authoring engine 422 may be an application using various languages such as HTML, XML, and Java.

The output of this authoring engine 422 may be an application source or may be compiled binary code.

The component manager 423 may package and provide a frequently used functional module for convenience of a developer. Changes such as new versions of components and templates can take advantage of new components and management capabilities in addition to systems such as live update servers.

In particular, the component manager 423 may process a component such as an ActiveX and a security module to be compatible in the flexible browser 120 when encoding the components so that various components of the open content can be reconfigured.

The content produced in the authoring engine 422 may be uploaded to the content collector 332 through the upload processor 421. It can use various protocols such as FTP and HTTP.

The detailed configuration of the receiving terminal 110 may include an event processor 111 that receives an input event of an interface device that receives a remote controller and a usage signal of a viewer, as shown in FIG. 4. This is mainly the middleware and H / W based processing part in the receiving terminal 110.

The flexible browser 120 may receive and use a signal received from the event processor 111.

In addition, the receiving terminal 110 may be provided with a transceiver 112 capable of networking with other systems. The flexible browser 120 may communicate with the ubiquitous server 310 by using the function of the transceiver 112 and may use information of another system.

The flexible browser 120 may include a state management unit 121 and manages execution / end of the received content service. It is in charge of processing such as program organization information of the event processing unit 111 and screen change of the content itself. Depending on the service configuration, it is possible to manage the list of each content and the entry path.

In addition, the state management unit 121 may perform a management function for the screen. For example, PIP (Picture In Picture) processing of the video area in the A / V broadcasting reception state, or the function to return to the original state, and the screen processing part when several application applications are activated in the broadcasting reception state. This is the part that handles the same screen.

As described above, the flexible browser 120 transmits the corresponding attribute information to the ubiquitous server 310 based on the medium attribute information according to the medium, and receives appropriate content information to express it.

The protocol manager 122 is a component that transmits a request to the ubiquitous server 310 or protocolizes and transmits additional information generated in the receiving terminal 110. In addition, by analyzing the data for the protocol transmitted from the remote broadcasting server to output on the screen of the receiving terminal 110 or to induce the use of the viewer.

The metadata generated and transmitted and received by the ubiquitous server 310 and the remote broadcasting client may be generated as an efficient protocol structure according to the type of message and the usage of the content.

Examples of such protocols are shown in Table 1. The specifics of these protocols can be changed depending on the service function and the expansion of the system. Each field will be described in detail as follows.

MessageID: A identifier for a message used in the system of the present invention. Each message may have a unique value for each time point.

Return_Type: It has a value that can distinguish whether the message generated by the ubiquitous server 310, the message generated by the remote broadcasting client, or the message generated by another system.

Message_Version: Records the version value of the message.

Message_Length: Records the total length of the message.

Service_ID: Identifies the unique ID of the content service using the message.

Message_Type: Identifies the type of message. The ubiquitous server 310 may deliver operation messages, data messages, event type messages, real-time change messages, etc. of each service by type.

Number_Descriptor: Delivers additional data in Descriptor form so that additional information can be delivered along with message. Shows the number of descriptors.

Description_Type: Indicates the type of description.

Description_Length: Shows the length of Desctioption.

Desctiption_Message []: Represents the actual DescptionData.

Data_Structure_Type: The data used in the application can be classified and transmitted by type. Data types include images such as Bit Map and JPG, multilingual text information such as Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese, audio data, and precompiled executable files that can be used in applications. .

The pre-compiled executable file may be delivered to the receiving terminal 110 in binary form to eliminate the compilation step when loading the flexible browser 120 so that the executable file may be executed immediately after loading. In addition, since it is not necessary to occupy a storage space of the receiving terminal 110, a service can be easily configured regardless of the specification of the receiving terminal 110.

Number_Segment: Displays the size of the data.

Compression_Type: Identifies the compression method.

Compression_String_Byte []: Contains the actual data being compressed.

In addition, the protocol item may include a flag value for specifying a unique ID of the receiving terminal 110 and a state of the receiving terminal 110, and may process an event for an input signal received from a user input device. You can configure the classification data.

In addition, Sync information on back ground music (BGM) and simple sound effects is available.

Next, a new service content generation procedure using a general world garden method will be described. A flow for a method of registering a service in a service provider in the same manner as the Walled Garden is shown in FIG. 5.

The connectable address is an example of a virtual channel system and may use an address of a channel domain system (CDS) filed and registered by the present applicant. At this time, the open content should be registered in the CDS server.

If the virtual channel is allocated by the CDS method and only contents are used by the virtual channel, world gardening of open content is possible. It is possible to block illegal information (illegal information not suitable for the use of broadcasting and communication such as adults and gambling) and restrict the use of security and indiscriminate open content.

Unlike World Garden, open contents can be provided by simply specifying URL and connectable address in general contents without registering service.

First, the content to be registered through the authoring unit is generated and the verified content is uploaded to the content management unit (S20).

Thereafter, the uploaded service is registered in the service manager 331 (see FIG. 2) (S21). The registered content is managed by including various resources such as source and image and function of service. When the content is changed or the service is changed, the service is managed by updating the version.

In this way, the service registered in the service management unit 331 is delivered to the encoding processing unit 312 of the ubiquitous server 310 and undergoes an encoding operation so that it can be delivered to the receiving terminal 110 (S22). When encoding, optimization is performed according to the characteristics of each medium. The encoded service content is transmitted to the distribution processor 320 as described above.

The registered service organizes an event such as a schedule such as indication information such as a channel and a time point of delivery such as broadcast and transmission (S23). In addition, the authority can be set through the setting of the paid billing such as a service package.

The encoding order is preceded by the event organizer because there may be a case where the user's request may enter the non-encoded state after the event organizer. At that point, you can perform the encoding service.

In an embodiment of the broadcast, the change information is transmitted to the receiving terminal 110 in real time when the channel and the event are changed. In addition, it is possible to determine the time of delivery of the change information at a specific point in time (a time of receiving a service change confirmation request from the receiving terminal).

As such, when the event is completed, the receiving terminal 110 is ready to use the service.

Hereinafter, an example of a service for each medium that can be executed by the flexible browser will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

First, a general broadcast communication application may be executed (step 1 in FIG. 6). The service is driven in the system of the present invention and the requested service information is encoded and delivered to the flexible browser 120.

In addition, various portals and web contents of the Internet service may be encoded and transmitted according to the receiving terminal 110 for each medium, and displayed on the screen by the flexible browser 120 (process ② in FIG. 6).

PC-based flash content can be encoded and serviced (step 3 in FIG. 6), and EPG information is processed in the service manager of the content management system of the remote broadcasting system, and the corresponding EPG information is encoded in the encoding processing unit and delivered to the client to display on the screen. It can be displayed (④ process of Figure 6).

In addition, there may be a wide variety of examples, such as the application of the game content of the portable game machine.

The following is an example of creating a new service content, and further describes an example of a world garden service.

As shown in FIG. 7, a function is provided in a menu form for the lower screen on the full screen. Each function menu configures the UI to enable focus by the input device of the receiving terminal, and moves to a lower screen when it is selected by the input device.

The example of FIG. 7 is a traffic information service as an example of a walled garden service. Displays information such as voice guidance, shortest distance, emergency, and traffic information that can be moved to the lower screen from the traffic information main screen.

At this time, when the user selects the function of each button, the screen moves to the lower screen. Each subfunction displays screen components and data. Initialization function can be provided to move to main screen from each sub-function.

The following describes an example of a service that can be performed simultaneously for the world garden and the open content as a new service content generation procedure.

8 is a first example of a service in which a function of open content is added to a function of a world garden service. Five of the six menus are sub-services of the World Garden Service, and one menu is configured to be moved to an internet shopping mall.

If you select the goods and services menu, the flexible browser requests the site from the ubiquitous server. The virtual drive manager of the ubiquitous server receives the information of the site, protocolizes it in the encoding processing unit, and receives the information through the distributed processing unit.

When moving to the open content, there is a part difficult to return to the service of the world garden service or service provider, it is preferable to provide a corresponding function on the UI (123).

That is, selecting the "first" key of the UI 123 may move to the initial screen of the world garden service.

9 shows a second example of a service that can be simultaneously performed for the world garden and the open content. This is another example of the world garden service, which is an example of moving to open content when watching a general A / V broadcast.

When watching a music channel, the ubiquitous server delivers to the receiving terminal the ability to move to open content on the channel.

At this time, the flexible browser of the receiving terminal receives the corresponding signal and displays it on one side of the screen. When the receiving terminal receives a specific input, it goes to the website of the music channel. Return to the A / V channel after using the promotion on the website.

A process of such a flexible browser will be described with reference to FIG. 10.

First, when a viewer selects a service and selects and executes the flexible browser, the flexible browser is executed and the service is executed (S30). The service selected is either the flexible browser itself, the flexible browser is an index application, or an entry path feature that can run service applications such as PPV Portal, EPG, VOD Portal, Games, Go, Weather, and Places. Can provide.

Thereafter, the channel information is received (S31). The channel information may be directly input through the number button or the character input of the input unit, and may be provided in the form of a menu and indirectly selected.

In this process, it may be checked whether the channel exists.

That is, the input channel information is transmitted to the ubiquitous server (S32), and the channel and organization information is checked in the event manager of the ubiquitous server. Compares the requested content and channel information to the event manager and delivers the result to the receiving terminal.

In this case, programming information such as channel lineup may exist on a memory in the receiving terminal. Therefore, the process of checking whether the content exists can be added to check the memory in the receiving terminal.

If the channel does not exist (S33), if the channel does not exist, it indicates that the channel or content does not exist on the screen so that the viewer can know (S34).

After this process, the client transmits the information of the service content (S35) and displays it on the receiving terminal.

At this time, there may be information that is changed after receiving the service content. Therefore, the service content information to be changed is transmitted from the ubiquitous server to the receiving terminal (S36).

Then, the flexible browser displays the received information and waits for user input (S37).

Next, as an example of the use of the flexible browser, an example of the flexible browser which directly receives a channel number will be described with reference to FIG.

In other words, the flexible browser may be configured to have no UI. It simply performs the functions of managing the lifecycle and resources for the service, but the UI can be configured for user convenience.

In the embodiment of the broadcast, when the viewer is watching the A / V broadcast, pressing a specific key (green button on the input unit), the flexible browser is displayed on the screen, the focus is focused on the channel input portion ( Go to 124). Pressing a specific key again toggles the channel input portion 124 and the client disappears on the screen.

The input and processed channel may be an existing A / V channel, a virtual channel assigned to an application, and a lower screen of the application.

Next, an example of a flexible browser that indirectly selects a service in a menu form will be described with reference to FIG. 12.

When the viewer is watching the A / V broadcast, pressing a specific key (menu button) displays the flexible browser 120 on the screen and displays the flexible browser 120 on the screen to select a service. do. Pressing a specific key again toggles and the flexible browser 120 disappears on the screen.

The service content that can be mapped to the flexible browser 120 in the form of a menu may be an application of an existing broadcasting communication service, an Internet content of an EPG service web service, an application application on a PC, flash, various contents of another medium, and the like. The content may be encoded and received directly from the ubiquitous server.

Hereinafter, a specific method of content encoding will be described.

When encoding A / V-linked services when encoding service contents, a content encoding method using alpha values for reducing network usage is possible.

In the media where other service applications are displayed while the video areas of IPTV, DMB, and A / V are displayed, an alpha value that sets the transparency of the graphic source to perform redundant display processing on the A / V video area and the service application area. Can be processed. Normally, an alpha value is added to the RGB value of a graphic source to convey four Int signals. However, in most cases, the alpha value is fixed in one medium. By using this feature, it is possible to set the alpha value at the client, pass only RGB value of graphic source to network, and reduce 1/4 of network usage by not sending alpha value.

To implement this, when the client requests the service content in the A / V state, it sends a limit value to the alpha value by requesting a specific value together. It is possible to configure a method of transmitting an alpha value together when requesting a specific value.

In FIG. 13, an area defined by the border 125 displays a screen of service content. The service content is composed of a UI that is displayed translucently on the A / V. If the ubiquitous server delivers the alpha value that handles the translucency when encoding the content, the alpha value should be specified for the RGB pixel for the area according to the UI screen composition. However, since the alpha value is usually specified in the overall service configuration, the alpha value can be defined and used in the flexible browser and the content itself.

On the other hand, as an encoding method for the changed response information, The screen and the elements can be divided by a specified number to retransmit the changed area.

Although the transmitted data can be compressed and transmitted, most receiving terminals support low-end hardware, so it is necessary to restore the received compressed file to provide a service. At this time, since the time taken to restore may interfere with the service, a compression method that is easy to decode such as non length compression may be preferable instead of an excessive compression method.

Partial data that can be retransmitted includes images, text, and compiled class files that each service can additionally use.

That is, in the example of FIG. 14, retransmission is performed only for regions 1-2 and 2-2 where information is changed.

In addition, the component that is fixed and the part that operates on a predictable schedule does not continuously transmit the changed part in the server, but the component that changes the part after the client receives it by transmitting the component including the changed part. Can be processed, and thus the efficiency of the network can be increased.

The example shown in FIG. 15 is to schedule a change of a specific area of the web content, for example, the flash advertising area 126, transmit each component in its entirety, and then reconfigure and schedule the display at the receiving terminal. .

On the other hand, as an example of a method of encoding response information for a fixed area, in the case of a service having a static screen configuration in an embodiment of a broadcast medium, as shown in FIGS. Can transmit The background Iframe is encoded in advance and ready for transmission.

The advantage of using Iframe is that hardware decoding is displayed and can reduce CPU processing load. Also, if you encode 720x480 resolution, you get 800KB of screen information. When converted to Iframe, it is reduced to 50KB, so that the compression effect of the transmission contents can be obtained.

That is, as shown in FIG. 16, the background of the service screen is transmitted, and as shown in FIG. 17, the information to be changed displayed on the background is displayed. At this time, the type of information may be text, compiled application data, and the like.

In some cases, a flexible browser may need to handle pop-ups of open content. That is, in the case of open content such as web content, a popup may randomly occur when a specific page is called according to the content configuration. In this situation, a method for processing content focus sequentially and processing in the virtual drive can be configured as follows.

First, when a specific site is called to the server by the client request, the specific site is loaded into the virtual drive (S40).

At this time, it is determined whether a new creation request exists in the virtual drive (S41). Therefore, when a call of a new object whose pop-up and focus is changed in a loaded specific site is generated, an object whose new pop-up and focus is moved to a new request is loaded and processed in a new virtual drive (S42).

If there is no new request in the virtual drive, it transfers to the content receiving end of the virtual memory (S43).

Systemically, the loading on the new virtual drive and the transmission to the content receiver proceed asynchronously, but one information is displayed in order because the virtual drive is loaded in order and processed and delivered to the receiver. Can be.

The content information transfer of the virtual memory delivers the information to the receiver through the network.

Then, the components of the received service are sequentially displayed (S44). If the first transmitted component is not displayed, the display waits for the display of the received component.

When the service is composed of multiple focuses such as a pop-up or dual screen, the receiving terminal removes the pop-up and components that are in focus by pressing a specific button (for example, exit button).

In addition, when encoding a component such as a pop-up in the server, it can be displayed according to the display characteristics of each medium by giving attribute information such as a position value.

Hereinafter, as an example of an input device used by a user, a method of synchronizing between an event generated by using a remote controller and server content will be described.

In the Windows-based remote control service, the focus movement between the remote client and the server is focused on mouse events. In general, ubiquitous media are not equipped with a PC user interface such as a mouse and keyboard. For example, in the broadcasting environment, a simple operation unit in the form of a remote controller is provided, and in the DMB and WIBRO terminals, a keypad mainly provided with a number button and a function button is provided.

In a typical system, when the direction key is pressed, the coordinates of the client are changed, and the attribute information is transmitted to the server side, and the changed attribute information is used again.

Such a user navigation method may generate continuous input of an interface to find a desired focus position and thus unnecessary network loss.

To solve this problem, navigation can be facilitated by mapping a unit function of the server content to a user input event.

That is, in the example of FIG. 19, when moving the input focus from ① to ②, the conventional method selects the right direction button until it continuously reaches the focus, and moves the focus indicator table (arrow). Whenever the focus moves, it communicates with the server side to get the position value back to the server side, and networking occurs with the server side every time the focus is selected.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 20 and 21, by using a navigation method in which the focus is sequentially moved whenever a specific allocation key is selected, it is possible to make the service provider easy to assign the priority assignment and the screen configuration. According to the input specific assignment key, the navigation function (Function) of the content is mapped.

As an example of remote control event mapping, as shown in FIG. 20, the specific assignment key may be a color key special character key including a direction key.

Function_right (): Press button 1 to go to the specified focus in the right direction

Function_left (): Pressing button 2 moves to the specified focus in the left direction.

Function_up (): Press button 3 to go to the upper focus point.

Function_down (): Press button 4 to move to the specified focus in the lower direction.

Function_next (): Pressing the 5 button moves to the next specified focus regardless of direction.

Function_prev (): Press button 6 to go to the previous focus, regardless of direction.

Movement between each focus is possible with only one user input. In other words, if you want to move from ③ to ④, press the right direction key mapped to Function_right (). The arrangement of the screen may be arbitrarily made regardless of the up, down, left, or right directions. At this time, the order of the focus may be specified according to the service function and priority.

Function_prev () is a function of moving to the focus of the previous rank and Function_next () is an example of a function of moving to the focus of the next rank.

As shown in Fig. 22, it is also possible to map screen division information to a number button. That is, a numeric keypad exists in a typical user input interface of a receiving terminal interworking with a ubiquitous server. Provides an easy input and focus display method using the numeric keypad.

As an example, the screen elements of the X-axis and Y-axis of the receiving terminal are divided in the same manner as the keypad 111 of the user input interface shown in FIG.

When the first button of the keypad 111 of the interface is pressed, a screen other than the first area is slightly grayed out and the focus is processed. If you press the button once again, the screen other than the area 1 will be dimmed once more and the focus will be processed.

One specific example of this may be an example of a Go service as shown in FIG. 24, and an example of divided navigation of a web site in open content as shown in FIG. 25.

In addition, the focus split information may be mapped to the number buttons. This is applicable to a service in which the navigation components are distributed in a rectangular form. For example, it is convenient for a service in which many input focuses are distributed in a rectangular form such as chess chess. Fig. 26 is a flowchart illustrating the use of content having a focus division.

First, the screen is allocated as much as the input unit (S50). For this purpose, the content is divided in proportion to the structure of the input interface when the content is produced.

Then, it is determined whether sub-allocation is possible (S51), and the focus may be recursively divided according to the screen configuration of the service. If the subpartition exists in the divided focus, the subfocus is divided again like the structure of the input interface.

If sub-allocation is not possible, transmission and reception are displayed on the receiving terminal (S52). The content configured with the focus division is transmitted at the server side, received at the receiving end, and displayed on the receiving terminal. In the screen displayed on the actual receiving terminal, it is advantageous to display the structure of the input interface on the screen to induce a shortcut input to the user.

Next, the assigned interface value is input (S53). This selects the value of the interface assigned at the time of content creation.

Then, the set screen specific display and focus is performed (S54), and the focus is shifted to the divided screen, and it is appropriate to perform the focus out processing on the other area.

Next, it is determined whether there is a sub-allocation (S55), and if there is a sub-division area in the focused partition, the user may move back to the sub-division area by inputting an assigned interface value (S53). Otherwise, general navigation and services can be used (S56).

Hereinafter, an example of connecting the flexible browser and the personal broadcast of the receiving terminal will be described with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28.

In order to connect to a network for personalized broadcasting, the personalized broadcasting using the flexible browser 520 included in the receiving terminal 510, the personal broadcasting terminal 600 including the ubiquitous server module 610, and the gateway 700. This is possible.

The ubiquitous server module 610 may distribute the functional part of the ubiquitous server in the form of H / W and S / W to enable personalized broadcasting.

The personal broadcasting terminal 600 may mainly be a personal PC. Content to be personal broadcast can be a variety of applications, such as videos and files of the personal PC.

The personal broadcast may be displayed on the receiving terminal 510 through the flexible browser 520 of the receiving terminal 510 of the personal PC of the user. In addition, broadcasting between the receiving terminals 510 is possible.

Each network of the receiving terminal 510 and the personal broadcasting terminal 600 is possible through the gateway 700, and the network between each medium (ISP and private network) is connected between the gateway 700 in charge of the network of each medium. Is possible.

In addition, the receiving terminal 510 and the personal broadcasting terminal 600 can be connected by wire (physical network connection between the broadcasting receiving terminal in the house and the PC).

Such a personal broadcast may enable a service such as an existing personal Internet broadcast, P2P, home server, and the like on a TV.

The group 500 of receiving terminals refers to a network of the receiving terminal 510 medium. The network of one group 500 and the network of another group are possible through the gateway 700.

The personal broadcasting terminal 600 may be a variety of media, and mainly a PC capable of easily generating, reproducing and managing multimedia data.

The ubiquitous server module 610 may be distributed in the form of hardware or software in the personal broadcasting terminal 600.

The ubiquitous server module 610 may set and manage contents to be broadcast in the personal broadcasting terminal 600 for a purpose suitable for personal broadcasting. Personal broadcasting content can be set such as the authority setting, the number of scheduling personal broadcasting users.

A personal broadcasting terminal and A receiving terminal can be networked through a physical connection and can be networked through a broadcaster's gateway. In addition, the A receiving terminal may use the content of the B personal broadcasting terminal through the gateway of the broadcasting company.

Hereinafter, the connection between the flexible browser of the receiving terminal and the personal broadcast in the personal broadcast service will be described with reference to FIG. 28.

Describe the flow of system configuration for personalized broadcasting.

First, a server module is installed in a medium to be a personal broadcasting server (S60). A ubiquitous server module is configured in a medium to be a personal broadcast server. Ubiquitous server module may be composed of software or hardware optimized for personalized broadcasting.

And the network is set (S61). The ubiquitous server module sets network information of a personal broadcast server and network information of a broadcast receiving terminal through a gateway of a broadcast provider. The broadcaster's gateway and ubiquitous server modules record their respective network information.

Next, personal broadcast content is set (S62). This is to set a function and content to be broadcast in the personal broadcast server, and if the personal broadcast server is a PC, it is possible to set the video mail, various applications, etc. on the PC.

Iconization can also be set as a shortcut for each function. When the setting of the personal broadcasting server is completed and becomes on-air, the personal broadcasting reception is possible, and the signal is transmitted to the gateway of the broadcasting company to transmit the signal.

Next, a personal broadcast signal is received in the flexible browser (S63). The flexible browser of the receiving terminal checks the broadcasting status of individual broadcasting servers through the gateway of the broadcasting company.

And, connect to the personal broadcast server (S64). Connect to a personal broadcast server that can receive broadcasts. When connecting, it may be restricted by viewing authority or setting for broadcasting viewing of personal broadcasting server.

Then, the personal broadcast server content selection and use is possible (S65), the viewer can view the content and function list of the personal broadcast server in the flexible browser, select the content and receive and use it.

On the other hand, the ubiquitous system according to an embodiment of the present invention can provide content in association with information of a conventional broadcast system.

The example illustrated in FIG. 29 illustrates an example in which the service content 126 transmitted in association with a program broadcast in home shopping broadcast is managed by an event management server such as PSIP / SI in which broadcast program information configured in A / V interworking is managed. . A broadcast program such as an organized A / V is compressed and multiplexed in a broadcast H / E and transmitted to a receiver through a network.

In this example, the ubiquitous server transmits the service content 126 linked to the home shopping A / V program, and the flexible browser at the receiving end performs the linked process.

The service content 126 may be executed while the user is watching the home shopping A / V program, and the service content 126 is automatically terminated when the home shopping program is terminated or the user moves to another service.

The service content 126 may be configured on one side of the screen so as not to interfere with the home shopping A / V viewing, and the screen may be configured by processing such as translucent.

The following is an example of event inactivity, that is, an example of an independent program that is not related to timeline events such as UCC and TV open market.

30 to 33 illustrate examples of screens and scenarios displayed on a receiving terminal when ubiquitous contents organized in an educational program are received while watching an educational broadcasting channel. It is shown.

As shown, the service content is composed of four screens as shown in Figs.

At this time, when a certain condition is met during program viewing (eg, watching the corresponding channel or is the set time?), The content information is transmitted and the content is displayed on the screen.

As an example, the screen schedule of the content is set as follows.

30: 7:20 pm-7:22 pm of the EBS channel

31: 7:22 pm-7:24 pm of the EBS channel

32: 7:24 pm-7:26 pm of the EBS channel

33: 7:26 pm-7:29 pm of the EBS channel

Each screen is automatically updated and displayed on the screen at that time.

Next, a method for securing better performance and stability when delivering content information from a ubiquitous server to a receiving terminal through a network using a distributed processor is presented. The content is distributed and provided according to the indication such as the channel of the largely delivered content, the connection maintainability through the session, and the form according to the format of the content.

1. Distributed Method Using Directives

The service content information generated and encoded in advance is configured based on indication information such as a channel. By distributing the indication information, the distributed processing unit provides the higher indication information to obtain a distribution effect of the network.

2. Distribution Method Using Connection Maintenance (FIG. 34)

The service content information is delivered by the distributed processor at the request of the receiving terminal. The distributed processing unit maintains the information for a specific time, and if there is no service use time, the distributed processing unit removes the information.

3. Distributed Method Using Content Type

There are two types of services: fixed information whose form is fixed and change information which is changed in real time or according to a user's input. In particular, in the case of a world garden service, the information is usually fixed. The fixed information may be encoded in advance, and delivered immediately when a request is received from the distributed processor, thereby obtaining a network dispersion effect.

It is possible to store content in a distributed processing unit for each session and deliver it to a receiving end at each request. The maintenance of a session can be managed according to a specific time and period or according to a screen and a usage form.

Hereinafter, the steps of the distribution method using connection maintenance will be described with reference to FIG. 34.

First, the service terminal requests the service content (S70).

Then, it is determined whether there is a session available (S71), and it is determined whether the session corresponding to the information requested by the distributed processing unit is activated.

Thus, if the session is activated, the distributed processing unit immediately transfers the information to the receiving terminal (S72). If the session activation does not exist, the distributed processing unit requests the corresponding information from the ubiquitous server (S73).

Then, the ubiquitous server encodes the corresponding information and delivers the content to the distribution processor (S74). The distributed processing unit transmits the corresponding information to the receiving terminal (S75).

As such, the distributed processing unit may create and manage a session. When a new session is created, the distributed processor maintains the session for a specific time by setting a specific time.

In addition, when there is no re-request of the user for a specific time, it is possible to secure the resources of the distributed processing unit by removing the session.

The above embodiment is an example for explaining the technical idea of the present invention in detail, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, various modifications are possible, and various embodiments of the technical idea are all protected by the present invention. It belongs to the scope.

Claims (12)

In the apparatus for providing a bidirectional content service in a ubiquitous environment,
An information generation unit for receiving the content transmitted from the information providing unit including the content providing medium, processing and delivering the content service screen and / or the content service control function at the receiving end;
Apparatus for providing an interactive content service in a ubiquitous environment, characterized in that it comprises a network for providing communication between the information generating end and the receiving end. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the network performs a function including user authentication and / or network load balancing. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the receiving end comprises a plurality of receiving terminals. The method of claim 1, wherein the information generating unit,
A broadcast H / E for compressing and multiplexing a broadcast source and transmitting the same to the receiving end through the network;
And an event management server for matching a channel and a schedule of broadcast programs to the broadcast source, compressing multiplexing, and delivering the same to the receiving end. The method of claim 1, wherein the information generating unit,
A content management unit managing content uploaded from the information providing unit;
A ubiquitous server that receives the content from the content manager and processes and delivers the content to implement a service screen and a function of the content at the receiving end;
Apparatus for providing a bidirectional content service in a ubiquitous environment, characterized in that it comprises a distributed processing unit for distributing the data of the data transmitted from the ubiquitous server. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the information generation unit further comprises a distributed processing unit configured to distribute data of data transmitted from the ubiquitous server. 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the ubiquitous server,
A virtual drive manager configured to analyze the type and value of a signal input from the receiving end for each request and manage generated data according to each request;
An encoding processor configured to protocolize a source and metadata of a content service to be transmitted at a receiving end;
And an event management unit for performing at least one of instruction information, program schedule information, content management information, and screen configuration information of the transmitted content itself. 8. The bidirectional content service of claim 7, wherein the virtual drive manager generates video information and audio information as response information by using an input signal input from the receiver, and transmits the video and audio information to the encoding processor. Provision device. The bidirectional ubiquitous environment according to claim 5, wherein the receiving end includes a flexible browser which transmits the corresponding attribute information to the ubiquitous server based on the media attribute information and receives the content information and displays the received information. Content service providing apparatus. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the receiver comprises a protocol manager configured to transmit a request to the ubiquitous server or to protocolize and transmit additional information generated in the receiver. 6. The bidirectional content service of claim 5, wherein the distributed processing unit processes the channel by using load balancing or channel distribution in a broadcast service including channel management, session management, and service resource management. Provision device. In the apparatus for providing a bidirectional content service in a ubiquitous environment,
A ubiquitous server that receives the content transmitted from the content providing medium and processes and delivers the content service screen and / or the content service control function in a plurality of receiving terminals;
Apparatus for providing a bidirectional content service in a ubiquitous environment, characterized in that it comprises a network providing communication between the ubiquitous server and the plurality of receiving terminals.

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