CN104837056A - Method and device for switching network television programs, and television system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention proposes a network TV program switching method, device and TV system, the method includes pre-downloading the associated program of the current program according to the current program being played and saving it to the cache; after the playing of the current program is completed, judging Whether the program to be played is the associated program; if it is determined that the program to be played is the associated program, play the associated program.

Description

A network TV program switching method, device and TV system

technical field

The invention relates to the application field of network television, in particular to a network television program switching method, device and television system.

Background technique

At present, the concept of Internet TV is very popular, and major TV manufacturers, set-top box manufacturers, IPTV manufacturers and Internet companies are actively launching their own Internet TV products. Compared with traditional TV, Internet TV has obvious advantages: Internet TV can download and play program videos from network servers through broadband network, which makes users get rid of the situation that TV stations can only watch which programs they broadcast, and users can freely choose their own program you want to watch.

However, the shortcomings of the Internet TV itself are relatively obvious. When the Internet TV switches programs or videos, the connection must be reconnected, which leads to a long buffer time for switching, which seriously affects the user experience.

Contents of the invention

The present invention is proposed under this background. In order to solve the problem of long buffering time when switching programs or videos in Internet TV, this paper proposes a method, device and TV system for Internet TV program switching.

The present invention provides a method for switching Internet TV programs. The method includes: according to the current program being played, pre-downloading related programs of the current program and storing them in the cache; is the associated program; if it is determined that the program to be played is the associated program, play the associated program.

Further, if it is determined that the program to be played is not the associated program, the associated program is played until successfully switched to the program to be played.

Specifically, said pre-downloading the associated program of the current program according to the current program being played and saving it to the cache includes: if it is determined that the current program being played is a video-on-demand program, downloading the next video program of the program series and saving it to Caching; if the current program that is judged to be played is a real-time TV channel program, then download the channel program corresponding to the previous channel number and/or the next channel number of the currently played channel number and save it to the cache.

Further, before downloading the associated program of the current program and storing it in the cache, the method further includes: detecting the bandwidth usage of the current program being played, and judging whether the broadband for playing the current program meets the preset conditions; When the bandwidth meets the preset condition, the pre-download module is notified to download related programs of the current program according to the current program being played.

Further, the detection of the broadband usage of the current program played, and judging whether the broadband used to play the current program meets the preset conditions include: obtaining the download rate V1 required by the currently played program and the maximum available rate V2 of the current network; The ratio of the download rate V1 of the current network to the maximum available rate V2 of the current network is used as the current network utilization rate m; according to the comparison result of the current network utilization rate m and the preset network usage threshold, it is judged whether the current network bandwidth meets the preset conditions.

Further, whether the broadband for playing the current program satisfies the preset condition includes: the current network usage rate m is less than a preset network usage threshold, and it is determined that the broadband for playing the current program meets the preset condition.

The present invention also discloses an Internet TV program switching device. The device includes a pre-download module, a judgment module and a control module. The pre-download module is used to pre-download the associated program of the current program according to the current program being played and save it to the cache The judging module is used to judge whether the program to be played is the associated program after the current program is played; the control module is used to control the player to play the associated program when it is determined that the program to be played is associated. related programs.

Further, the control module is further configured to play the associated program until it is successfully switched to the program to be played when it is determined that the program to be played is not an associated program.

Specifically, the pre-download module is used to download the next video program of the program series and save it to the cache if it is determined that the current program played is a video-on-demand program; if it is determined that the current program played is a real-time TV channel program, then download The channel program corresponding to the previous channel number and/or the next channel number of the currently played channel number is saved to the cache.

Further, the device also includes a detection module, which is used to detect the broadband usage of the current program being played before downloading and storing the data buffer package of the program to be played, and determine whether the bandwidth for playing the current program meets the predetermined requirements. A condition is set, and when it is judged that the broadband for playing the current program satisfies the preset condition, the pre-download module is notified to pre-download related programs of the current program according to the current program being played.

Further, the detection module includes an acquisition sub-module, a calculation sub-module, a judgment sub-module and a notification sub-module, the acquisition sub-module is used to obtain the download rate V1 required by the current broadcast program and the maximum available rate V2 of the current network; the The calculation sub-module is used to use the ratio of the download rate V1 required by the current broadcast program to the maximum available rate V2 of the current network as the current network usage rate m; the judgment sub-module is used to base the current network usage rate m and the preset network usage threshold The comparison result of the current network is judged whether the current network bandwidth meets the preset condition; the notification submodule is used to notify the pre-download module to pre-download the current The show's associated show.

Further, the judging sub-module is specifically configured to determine that the current network bandwidth satisfies a preset condition when the current network usage rate m is less than a preset network usage threshold.

The present invention also discloses a terminal for playing Internet TV, and the terminal includes the above-mentioned device.

The invention also discloses a network television system, which includes the above-mentioned device.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a network TV program switching method. After judging the related program of the current program, the streaming media package of the related program of the current program is pre-downloaded and put into the cache, and can be played directly when the program is switched. The problem of long buffering time when switching TV.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is the basic flowchart of the method embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a flow chart of a method embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of another method embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the device of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The present invention solves the problem of long buffering time of network TV when programs are switched, and judges which programs are related programs of the current program according to the current program played and user habits, and when the user watches the program, the streaming media package of the related program Download in the background.

In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more clear, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, in the case of no conflict, the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined arbitrarily with each other.

Fig. 1 is the basic flowchart of the method embodiment of the present invention, and the method as shown in Fig. 1 comprises the following steps,

Step S11: According to the current program being played, the terminal pre-downloads related programs of the current program and saves them in the cache;

This is equivalent to the terminal connecting and downloading multiple TV programs at the same time, only playing the program currently selected by the user, and the associated program as a backup, only downloading but not playing.

The current program is a real-time TV channel program or a video-on-demand program. If the current program is a real-time TV channel program and the channel number played is N, then the associated program is the program corresponding to channel number N-1 and/or channel number N+1 , for example the user receives channel 4, the associated programs are channel 3 and/or channel 5.

If the current program is a video-on-demand program, the associated program is the next video program of the program series. For example, the program watched by the user is the fourth episode of a TV series in the video-on-demand library, and the associated program is the fifth episode of the TV series.

Step S12: After the current program is finished playing, determine whether the program to be played is the associated program;

Step S13: If it is determined that the program to be played is the associated program, play the associated program.

Method embodiment one

Fig. 2 is a flow chart of a method embodiment of the present invention, the method shown in Fig. 2 comprises the following steps:

Step 201: the connection module performs identity authentication with the network video server, and establishes a data connection;

The process of establishing a data connection by the connection module is related to the video server, and the corresponding process of establishing a data connection is also different for different video servers. This embodiment takes the establishment of a TCP connection as an example to describe the program switching of Internet TV in detail. Specifically, a connection is established through TCP, and then authentication information (user name and password, etc.) is sent for authentication, and then a specific video program is requested to be played.

Step 202: the user selects a real-time channel as the current program;

The user selects the program to watch through the remote control or the selection key on the TV body. In this embodiment, the user selects channel N.

Step 203: After the playback module receives the playback instruction, it plays the current program;

Step 204: The first buffer module buffers the current program and stores the buffer resources;

Step 205: the first judgment module judges whether the current broadband situation meets the pre-download condition;

When the current broadband condition satisfies the pre-download condition, skip to step 206, and when the current broadband condition does not satisfy the pre-download condition, skip to step 204.

In this embodiment, judging whether the current broadband situation satisfies the pre-download condition is specifically as follows:

First obtain the download rate V1 required by the current broadcast channel N, and then obtain the maximum available rate V2 of the current network, and use the ratio of V1 to V2 as the current network utilization rate m;

Then compare the current network usage rate m with the preset network usage rate threshold value M, if m is less than M, it is determined that the current network bandwidth is still sufficient, and downloading other programs at this time will not affect the normal playback of program N , skip to step 7. If m is not less than M, it is determined that the network usage is relatively saturated, and other programs cannot be downloaded.

If the network bandwidth is 10Mbps, only 0.5Mbps is used to play the current TV program, which means that the network usage rate m is 0.5/10=5%, and there is still room for network bandwidth. Downloading other TV programs at this time will not affect the normal playback of the current program .

If the network bandwidth is 1Mbps, only 0.7Mbps is used to play the current TV program, which means that the network utilization rate m is 0.7/1=70%, and the network bandwidth is close to saturation. Downloading other TV programs at this time is likely to cause the current program to freeze , it is not suitable to download other TV programs in the background at this time.

The setting of the network usage threshold is to ensure that the sum of all download link speeds cannot reach the total network bandwidth, otherwise these downloads may affect each other. For example, a maximum of 4 downloads are allowed at the same time, so the speed of each download link cannot exceed 25%, and the network usage threshold can be set to 25%, so that the current program can be played smoothly by setting the network usage threshold.

Step 206: the pre-downloading module pre-downloads the streaming media package of the associated program of the current program into the cache after the connection module connects the associated program of the current program in the background;

The methods for judging the associated programs of channel N include but not limited to:

If the user is watching a real-time TV channel program, the associated program is channel number N-1 and channel number N+1. For example, the current program channel N selected by the user is channel 4, and the associated program defaults to channel 3 and channel 5. Associate programs according to user definition.

Step 207: The user chooses to switch programs;

Step 208: the second judging module judges that the program to be played is an associated program;

Step 209: The reading module reads the streaming media package of the associated program from the cache;

Step 210: the third judging module judges whether the cached streaming media package has expired;

If there is a streaming media package of channel N but the time has expired, step 211, if there is a streaming media package of program N and it is available at the current time, then jump to step 12.

In the present embodiment, it is judged whether the streaming media package of cache expires as:

When the streaming media is playing, it continuously reads the data in the streaming media package in the cache for playback. After the playback, the data will be cleared immediately, and new data will be stored in the cache. The streaming media package of the currently playing program will be deleted after playing. The streaming media package of the associated program is stored in the cache and will not be played, but it will not be kept all the time. In this embodiment, an expiration time is set, such as 3 seconds, and the streaming media package before 3 seconds will be deleted, so that It means that the cache only keeps the last 3 seconds of program data.

This step is to keep the cache in an available state without being filled with streaming media packages, and also to ensure the real-time performance of the channel programs.

Step 211: the deletion module deletes the expired streaming media package, and jumps to step 212;

The main control module is connected to the server of the program N through the network connection module, and the streaming media package of the downloaded program N is put into the cache.

Step 212: The playing module plays the buffered programs.

When the streaming media is playing, it continuously reads the data in the cache for playback. After the playback, the data will be cleared immediately, and new data will be stored in the cache.

Step 213: skip to step 204;

Step 214: the process ends.

Method embodiment two

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of another method embodiment of the present invention, the method shown in Fig. 3 includes the following steps:

Step 301: The connection module performs identity authentication with the network video server, and establishes a data connection.

The network TV conducts identity authentication with the network video server through HTTP, and establishes a data connection.

Step 302: The user chooses to watch program 1 as the current program;

In this embodiment, the program 1 that the user chooses to watch is a video-on-demand program, and all TV dramas are stored in a certain order in the server database.

Step 303: the download module downloads the streaming media package of program 1 and puts it into the cache;

When the downloaded streaming media reaches a certain amount, start playing the downloaded content. While playing, continue to download the following streaming media package and put it in the cache.

Step 304: the control module determines the associated programs of the current program;

In this embodiment, the associated program of the current program is by default the next program of the program series. For example, the program that the user watches is the fourth episode of a TV series in the VOD library, and the associated program is the fifth episode of the TV series. If it is the last episode, exit the process;

In addition, the associated program can be customized by the user, for example, the user can set the associated program as a MV video, or a relaxed and funny dynamic picture.

Step 305: the judging module judges whether the current broadband situation meets the pre-download condition;

The judging module jumps to step 306 when the judging module judges that the current broadband situation meets the pre-downloading condition, and jumps to step 303 when the judging module judges that the current broadband situation does not meet the pre-downloading condition.

Wherein, the method for judging whether the current broadband is sufficient is the same as that in the previous embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

Step 306: the pre-download module downloads the streaming media package of the associated program of program 1, and stores the streaming media package of the associated program in the cache;

If the associated program is the default, it will be directly downloaded in the TV drama library. If the associated program is user-defined, the connection module needs to connect to the database where the associated program is located in the background and download the associated program.

Step 307: The user chooses to watch the associated program of program 1;

The associated program of program 1 is recorded as program 2, and the IPTV first checks whether the streaming media package of program 2 already exists in the cache. If it already exists, play program 2 directly; if it does not exist, the IPTV connects to the server of program 2, downloads the streaming media package of program 2 and puts it in the cache, and when the downloaded streaming media reaches a certain amount, it starts to play the downloaded content . While playing, continue to download the following streaming media package and put it in the cache.

Step 308: The playback module reads the downloaded streaming media package from the cache and plays it directly.

Step 309: the process ends.

In the above two method embodiments, the associated program can also be obtained according to the user's viewing habits, and the streaming media package of the associated program can be downloaded using the surplus network bandwidth. Specifically include: if the user frequently switches between two channels, the TV system will memorize the two channels, and when the current program is one of the channels, the associated program of the current program will replace the next or previous channel of the current channel for the other of the two channels.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the device of the present invention. The device shown in FIG. 4 includes a pre-download module 41, a determination module 42 and a control module 43, wherein,

The pre-download module 41 is used for pre-downloading the associated program of the current program according to the current program played and saving it to the cache; The next video program of the program series and saved to the cache;

If it is determined that the current program played is a real-time TV channel program, the channel program corresponding to the previous channel number and/or the next channel number of the currently played channel number is downloaded and stored in the cache.

The judging module 42 is used for judging whether the program to be played is the related program after the playing of the current program is finished; the control module 43 is used for controlling the player to play the related program when it is determined that the program to be played is the related program .

The control module 43 is further configured to play the associated program until it is successfully switched to the program to be played when it is determined that the program to be played is not an associated program.

The device also includes a detection module 44. The detection module 44 is used to detect the broadband usage of the current program played and judge whether the broadband used for playing the current program meets the predetermined requirements before downloading and storing the data buffer package of the program to be played. Set the condition, when it is judged that the broadband playing the current program satisfies the preset condition, notify the pre-download module to pre-download the associated program of the current program according to the current program played, in this embodiment, the detection module 44 includes an acquisition sub-module 431 , calculation submodule 432, judgment submodule 433 and notification submodule 434, wherein,

The obtaining sub-module 431 is used to obtain the download rate V1 required by the current broadcast program and the maximum available rate V2 of the current network;

The calculation sub-module 432 is used to use the ratio of the download rate V1 required by the current broadcast program to the maximum available rate V2 of the current network as the current network usage rate m; the judgment sub-module 433 is used to use the current network usage rate m and the preset network Use the comparison result of the threshold to judge whether the current network bandwidth meets the preset condition;

Specifically, the judging submodule is specifically used to judge that the current network bandwidth meets the preset condition when the current network usage rate m is less than the preset network usage threshold;

The notification sub-module 434 is configured to notify the pre-download module to pre-download related programs of the current program according to the current program played when it is judged that the broadband playing the current program satisfies the preset condition.

A terminal for playing Internet TV includes the device shown in FIG. 4 .

A television system includes the device shown in FIG. 4 .

Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps in the above method can be completed by instructing relevant hardware through a program, and the program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and the like. Optionally, all or part of the steps in the foregoing embodiments may also be implemented using one or more integrated circuits. Correspondingly, each module in the foregoing embodiments may be implemented in the form of hardware, or may be implemented in the form of software function modules. The present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention. Of course, the present invention also has other various embodiments. Without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make various Corresponding changes and modifications, but these corresponding changes and modifications should belong to the scope of protection of the appended claims of the present invention.

Claims (14)

1. A method for switching network television programs, characterized in that said method comprises the following steps: According to the current program being played, pre-download the program associated with the current program and store it in the cache; After the current program is played, it is judged whether the program to be played is the associated program; If it is determined that the program to be played is the associated program, the associated program is played. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: If it is determined that the program to be played is not the associated program, the associated program is played until successfully switched to the program to be played. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pre-downloading of the associated program of the current program according to the played current program and saving it to the cache comprises: If it is determined that the current program played is a video-on-demand program, then download the next video program of the program series and save it to the cache; If it is determined that the current program played is a real-time TV channel program, the channel program corresponding to the previous channel number and/or the next channel number of the currently played channel number is downloaded and stored in the cache. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: before downloading the program associated with the current program and storing it in the cache, the method further comprises: Detect the broadband usage of the current program played, and judge whether the broadband for playing the current program meets the preset conditions; when it is determined that the broadband for playing the current program meets the preset conditions, notify the pre-download module to download the current program according to the current program played associated programs. 5. The method according to claim 5, wherein said detecting the broadband usage of the current program being played, and judging whether the broadband for playing the current program satisfies a preset condition comprises: Obtain the download rate V1 required by the current broadcast program and the maximum available rate V2 of the current network; The ratio of the download rate V1 required by the current broadcast program to the maximum available rate V2 of the current network is used as the current network utilization rate m; According to the comparison result of the current network utilization ratio m and the preset network usage threshold, it is judged whether the current network bandwidth satisfies the preset condition. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein whether the broadband for playing the current program satisfies a preset condition comprises: the current network usage rate m is less than a preset network usage threshold, and determining whether the broadband for playing the current program Meet the preset conditions. 7. A network television program switching device, characterized in that the device comprises: Pre-download module: used for pre-downloading the associated program of the current program according to the current program being played and saving it to the cache; Judging module: for judging whether the program to be played is the associated program after the current program is finished playing; A control module: used to control the player to play the associated program when it is determined that the program to be played is an associated program. 8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the control module is further used for: When it is determined that the program to be played is not an associated program, the associated program is played until it is successfully switched to the program to be played. 9. The device according to claim 7, wherein the pre-download module is specifically used for: If it is determined that the current program played is a video-on-demand program, then download the next video program of the program series and save it to the cache; If it is determined that the current program played is a real-time TV channel program, the channel program corresponding to the previous channel number and/or the next channel number of the currently played channel number is downloaded and stored in the cache. 10. The device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that: the device also includes a detection module, which is used to detect the playback data before downloading and storing the data buffer packet of the program to be played. The broadband usage of the current program, judge whether the broadband for playing the current program meets the preset condition, and notify the pre-download module to pre-download the current program according to the current program played when it is judged that the broadband for playing the current program meets the preset condition associated programs. 11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the detection module comprises: The obtaining sub-module is used to obtain the download rate V1 required by the current playing program and the maximum available rate V2 of the current network; The calculation sub-module is used to use the ratio of the download rate V1 required by the current broadcast program and the maximum available rate V2 of the current network as the current network utilization rate m; Judgment sub-module, used for judging whether the current network bandwidth meets the preset condition according to the comparison result of the current network usage rate m and the preset network usage threshold; The notification sub-module is used to notify the pre-download module to pre-download related programs of the current program according to the current program being played when it is judged that the broadband for playing the current program satisfies the preset condition. 12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the determining submodule is specifically configured to determine that the current network bandwidth satisfies a preset condition when the current network usage rate m is less than a preset network usage threshold. 13. A terminal for playing Internet TV, characterized in that the terminal comprises the device according to any one of claims 7 to 12. 14. A network television system, characterized in that the system comprises the device according to any one of claims 7-12.