CN101600086A - Method, device and system for realizing Internet TV service - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method, device and system for realizing Internet TV services. The method includes: receiving a service acquisition request sent by a service terminal; sending an information acquisition request to an IPTV service system accordingly; receiving returned service information; converting it into an information page and sending it to the service terminal. The device includes: a terminal interface module for receiving service acquisition requests; a system interface module for sending information acquisition requests to the IPTV service system and receiving returned service information; a conversion module for converting service information into information pages , and send it to the service terminal through the terminal interface module. The system adopts the device of the present invention, and also includes: a service terminal and an IPTV service system. The invention can realize the interaction of browsing information between the service terminal and the IPTV service system, realize the compatibility and intercommunication of service browsing of IPTV systems of various companies, and make full use of the existing IPTV service resources.

Description

Method, device and system for realizing Internet TV service

technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to a method, device and system for realizing Internet Television (Internet Protocol Television, hereinafter referred to as IPTV) services.

Background technique

IPTV is becoming a well-known means of media acquisition, and it is also called interactive Internet TV, Internet TV, etc. IPTV service applications are in the process of continuous promotion, improvement and perfection.

Existing IPTV services are usually carried by IPTV systems independently developed by various companies. As an IPTV system, it generally includes equipment on both the service provider side and the user side. The service provider side equipment is also called IPTV service system, which includes a service management system and a service support system, and the user side equipment is a service terminal, which usually refers to a set-top box installed in each user's home. The provision of IPTV services by companies generally involves two aspects, namely business browsing and business services, which are provided by different subsystems in the IPTV business system. Service browsing is generally provided by a corresponding Electronic Program Guide (EPG) system. Business services are provided by the business support system, and the business management system is generally used for information management, such as business ordering and authentication. For each company, its business browsing and business services are usually bound and realized, which is difficult to separate. In the process of service implementation, the service terminal browses the service through the browser middleware set in it, so as to search and manage the IPTV service, and also receives the service data stream through the video stream decoding core set in it, so as to obtain and use the IPTV service.

Since each company independently develops its own IPTV system according to different specifications, the IPTV services provided by different companies are not compatible. The business terminals provided by a certain company use the same browser middleware and video stream decoding core, and can only choose the business browsing and business service systems provided by the company, and the business terminals of different companies cannot access the IPTV business systems of other companies. Get business browsing and business services. The implementation mode of the existing IPTV service is shown in FIG. 1 , the service terminal and each IPTV service system exchange EPG and data stream (DATA). The business terminal 10 of company A can access the IPTV service system 11 of company A, but cannot effectively access the IPTV service systems 21, 31 of company B or company C. Similarly, the business terminals 20, 30 of company B or company C also have the same problem . For the IPTV value-added services launched by various companies, there is also the problem that they cannot be interconnected and interoperable. The service terminals of other companies cannot be accessed. For example, the business terminal of company A cannot interact with the IPTV value-added service subsystem of company D, and cannot obtain the IPTV provided by company D. value-added services.

With the popularization of IPTV services, the interoperability and interconnection of various IPTV systems has become an obstacle to effectively utilize resources and satisfy customer needs to the greatest extent. For operators, many problems will be encountered when providing IPTV services in the actual operation process, for example: 1. Using the IPTV service system of the same company cannot separate its business services and business browsing, which limits the basic services of IPTV Promotion, because business services and business browsing are bound and cannot be provided interoperably, so the services of the IPTV system, especially various value-added services, cannot be provided to other users, which limits its development and is not conducive to operators to create new business growth points ; 2. Neither users nor companies can use terminal equipment or system equipment manufactured by third parties, such as set-top boxes, browsers, etc., nor can they use other software systems. This is not conducive to the healthy development of the industry chain, and it is difficult to reduce the operating cost Operating costs; 3. A unified business specification cannot be formulated and implemented, which limits the development of the industry.

Contents of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, device and system for implementing IPTV services, so as to realize compatibility and interoperability of service browsing in IPTV services, fully utilize existing network resources, and promote IPTV services.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing an Internet TV service, including the following steps:

receiving a service acquisition request sent by the service terminal;

Send an information acquisition request to the Internet TV service system according to the service acquisition request;

receiving the service information returned by the Internet TV service system;

Converting the service information into an information page and sending it to the service terminal.

The embodiment of the present invention also provides an Internet TV service implementation device, including:

A terminal interface module, configured to receive a service acquisition request sent by a service terminal;

A system interface module, configured to send an information acquisition request to the Internet TV service system according to the service acquisition request, and to receive the service information returned by the Internet TV service system;

A conversion module is connected to the terminal interface module and the system interface module respectively, and is used to convert the service information into an information page and send it to the service terminal through the terminal interface module.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a system using the Internet TV service implementation device of the present invention, which also includes: a service terminal and an Internet TV service system; the service terminal is connected to the terminal interface module; the Internet TV service system is connected to the The system interface modules are connected.

The aforementioned IPTV service implementation device is specifically an EPG portal middleware, and the EPG portal middleware executes the aforementioned IPTV service implementation method. As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the embodiment of the present invention implements the interaction between the service terminal and the IPTV service system through the EPG portal middleware, and realizes the interaction between the IPTV systems of various companies through the transformation and forwarding of the interactive information in the middle of the EPG portal. Compatibility is conducive to maximizing the use of existing IPTV business resources and providing users with richer IPTV business browsing services.

The present invention will be described in further detail below through specific embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a service realization mode of an IPTV system in the prior art;

Fig. 2 is the signaling flowchart of the specific embodiment 1 of the IPTV service realization method of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is the signaling flowchart of the second specific embodiment of the IPTV service implementation method of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is the signaling flowchart of the specific embodiment 3 of the IPTV service realization method of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a signaling flow chart of Embodiment 4 of the IPTV service implementation method of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a signaling flow chart of Embodiment 5 of the IPTV service implementation method of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a signaling flow chart of Embodiment 6 of the IPTV service implementation method of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a signaling flow chart of Embodiment 7 of the IPTV service implementation method of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a signaling flow chart of Embodiment 8 of the IPTV service implementation method of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a service realization mode of an embodiment of an IPTV service realization method according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of an IPTV service implementation device according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a system for realizing an IPTV service according to the present invention.

In the picture:

10-A company business terminal 11-A company IPTV business system 20-B company business terminal

21-B company IPTV business system 30-C company business terminal 31-C company IPTV business system

50-EPG Portal Middleware 51-Terminal Interface Module 52-System Interface Module

53-Transformation module 54-Acquisition module 55-Storage module

Detailed ways

The technical solutions of the various embodiments of the IPTV service implementation method of the present invention are realized by accessing the EPG portal middleware from the service terminal. The EPG portal middleware involved in each embodiment is a portal network element introduced into the IPTV system, independent of each service subsystem and service terminal in the IPTV system, and the EPG portal middleware serves as an interactive service between each service subsystem and service terminal As a bridge for browsing information, the EGP portal middleware can be a collection of EPG system functions in the original IPTV systems of various companies. The original EGP systems can be gradually weakened and replaced, or they can be retained to work independently to make the entire IPTV network system smooth. evolution.

EPG portal middleware interacts with various subsystems in the IPTV service system, and interacts with service terminals. The basic interaction steps are as follows:

Step 1. The EPG portal middleware receives the service acquisition request sent by the service terminal;

Step 2, the EPG portal middleware analyzes the service acquisition request, and sends an information acquisition request to the IPTV service system according to the service acquisition request;

Step 3, the EPG portal middleware receives the service information returned by the IPTV service system;

Step 4. The EPG portal middleware converts the service information into an information page, and sends it to the service terminal, that is, the set-top box.

Based on the above method, business browsing in various IPTV business systems can be realized, and business service problems, such as video data transmission, audio data transmission, etc., can be directly handled according to the interactive mode in the existing IPTV system. Various specific business browsing processes are described below.

Embodiment 1 of IPTV service realization method

FIG. 2 is a signaling flow chart of Embodiment 1 of the method for implementing an Internet TV service according to the present invention. Business terminals can realize online business ordering through the EPG portal middleware. Usually, the EPG portal middleware will provide a self-service business page for the business terminal, which is equivalent to the interface for the business terminal to access the EPG portal middleware. Select the corresponding service from the options on the page, and when the corresponding option is selected, the corresponding service acquisition request can be sent. This embodiment is specifically the flow of online ordering of IPTV services by the service terminal through the self-service service function, and specifically the flow of service ordering in the IPTV service by accessing the EPG portal middleware. The process specifically includes the following steps:

Step 201, the EPG portal middleware receives the service order request sent by the service terminal, and the service order request is a specific form in the service acquisition request, so as to trigger the order to a certain IPTV service;

Step 202. The EPG portal middleware sends an information acquisition request to the service management system in the IPTV service system according to the service order request. The information acquisition request is generated by the EPG portal middleware according to the service order request, specifically according to the service order request. Query the user information that sent the service order request, or parse and obtain the user information carried in the service order request, and use the user information and service order request as an information acquisition request;

Step 203: When the service management system receives the information acquisition request, it analyzes and identifies the user information, and performs user authentication according to the user information, that is, judges whether the user is eligible to subscribe to the IPTV service according to the corresponding data stored locally. Alternatively, the service management system can analyze and identify the service acquisition order request from the information acquisition request, and perform service authentication based on the service order request, that is, determine whether the service can be ordered based on the corresponding data stored locally, for example, whether there is an order time limit requirement, etc. Alternatively, the above-mentioned user authentication and service authentication can be combined to analyze and identify user information and service subscription requests at the same time to determine whether the user is eligible to subscribe to the IPTV service;

Step 204, when the authentication is passed, the business management system establishes an order relationship for the user, records the relevant order relationship data locally, and returns the order success response as business information to the EPG portal middleware. For the convenience of the user, you can also The basic introduction or other information of the ordered IPTV service will be returned together. When the authentication fails, the business management system can return the order failure response as business information to the EPG portal middleware, and can further return failure reasons and other information to the EPG portal middleware, so as to provide it to the user;

Step 205. The EPG portal middleware converts the received business information into an information page. A specific implementation form may be to store a variety of display templates corresponding to the business logic locally. For example, one of them corresponds to the success or failure of the order The display template of the response, the EPG portal middleware queries locally to obtain the corresponding display template according to the type of business information; the response of order success or failure is usually in the form of basic data. After the display module is determined, the basic data of the returned business information can be filled in into the display template, generate a corresponding information page, and send the information page to the service terminal to present it to the user. With the expansion of the content of the business information, it is convenient to adapt to various forms of returned business information through the improvement and expansion of the display template. In a specific application, the business management system can further identify its type in the returned business information, so that the EPG portal middleware can use it as a basis to select a display template.

The technical scheme of the present embodiment realizes the method that any company's service terminal orders IPTV service from the service management system in other company's IPTV service system conveniently by EPG portal middleware, has realized the compatibility of each company's IPTV system, It is beneficial to the promotion of IPTV services, and enables users and operators to make full use of existing resources. The solution has good scalability and strong scalability. The equipment on the user side and network side of the existing IPTV system does not need to be greatly improved. Interoperability can be achieved through the interaction with the EPG portal middleware, and through the EPG portal The upgrade and improvement of the middleware can easily enhance the system capability, so the scalability is strong.

Embodiment 2 of IPTV Service Realization Method

FIG. 3 is a signaling flow chart of the second embodiment of the method for realizing the Internet TV service of the present invention. After the service terminal subscribes to the IPTV service, it can also execute the online IPTV service unsubscription process through the EPG portal middleware. The process specifically includes the following steps:

Step 301, the EPG portal middleware receives the service unsubscribe request sent by the service terminal, and the service unsubscribe request is also a specific form in the service acquisition request, so as to trigger the unsubscribe of a certain IPTV service;

Step 302, the EPG portal middleware sends an information acquisition request to the service management system in the IPTV service system according to the service unsubscribe request, the information acquisition request is generated by the EPG portal middleware according to the service unsubscribe request, specifically according to the service unsubscribe Request to query locally the user information that sent the service unsubscribe request, or parse and obtain the user information carried in the service unsubscribe request, and use the user information and service unsubscribe request as an information acquisition request;

Step 303: When the service management system receives the information acquisition request, it analyzes and identifies the user information from it, performs user authentication according to the user information, or conducts the service according to the service unsubscribe request identified by the analysis, similar to the process of ordering the service. Authentication, or the above user authentication and service authentication can be combined for authentication to determine whether the user is eligible to cancel the subscription relationship of the service;

Step 304. When the authentication is passed, the service management system cancels the subscription relationship for the user, and updates the corresponding record locally, and then returns a successful unsubscription response as service information to the EPG portal middleware. When the authentication fails, the service management system can return the unsubscribe failure response as business information to the EPG portal middleware, and further return the failure reason and other information to the EPG portal middleware, so as to provide it to the user;

In step 305, the EPG portal middleware converts the received service information into an information page, and the specific implementation form may adopt the information page conversion method in the first embodiment above.

The technical solution of this embodiment, through the EPG portal middleware, conveniently realizes that any company's service terminal cancels the service subscription relationship with other companies' IPTV services, realizes the compatibility of each company's IPTV system, and is conducive to the promotion of IPTV services , and enable users and operators to make full use of existing resources, and the scheme has good scalability and strong scalability.

Embodiment 3 of IPTV Service Realization Method

FIG. 4 is a signaling flow chart of the third embodiment of the method for realizing the Internet TV service of the present invention. This embodiment is specifically that the service terminal executes the IPTV service query process through the EPG portal middleware, that is, the service terminal can use the query function in the self-service service to inquire about the relevant IPTV services that have been ordered or not ordered online by accessing the EPG portal middleware. information. The query process specifically includes the following steps:

Step 401, the EPG portal middleware receives the service query request sent by the service terminal, the service query request is another specific form in the service acquisition request, so as to trigger the query of the IPTV service-related information;

Step 402, the EPG portal middleware sends an information acquisition request to the business support system according to the business query request, the information acquisition request is generated by the EPG portal middleware according to the business query request, specifically, the business query is sent locally according to the business query request The requested user information, or parse and obtain the user information carried in the service query request, and use the user information and service query request as an information acquisition request;

Step 403: When the service support system receives the information acquisition request, similar to the process of ordering and unsubscribing the service, it analyzes and identifies the user information, performs user authentication according to the user information, or proceeds according to the service query request identified by the analysis. Service authentication, or the above-mentioned user authentication and service authentication can be combined for authentication to determine whether the user is eligible to inquire about the IPTV service, or to determine the scope of the IPTV service that the user can inquire about;

Step 404, when the authentication is passed, the service support system returns the related information of the IPTV service queried by the user as service information to the EPG portal middleware. When the authentication fails, the business support system can return the query failure response as business information to the EPG portal middleware, and can further return failure reasons and other information to the EPG portal middleware, so as to provide it to the user;

Step 405, the EPG portal middleware converts the received service information into an information page, and the specific implementation form may adopt the information page conversion method in the first embodiment above.

In this embodiment, through the instructions in the self-service business, the business terminal can also select a certain company or a certain type of business, and add query restrictions to the business query request. When the EPG portal middleware receives the business query request , the parameters can be analyzed for identification, and the service query request can be sent to the IPTV service system of the specified company according to the identified parameters, or to some IPTV service systems with a certain commonality, for example, all of them provide documentary audio-visual services IPTV business system.

The technical solution of the present embodiment realizes that any company's service terminal can inquire about other companies' IPTV services conveniently through the EPG portal middleware, realizes the compatibility of each company's IPTV system, is conducive to the promotion of IPTV services, and enables Users and operators make full use of existing resources, and the scheme has good scalability and strong scalability.

Embodiment 4 of IPTV Service Realization Method

FIG. 5 is a signaling flow chart of Embodiment 4 of the method for implementing an Internet TV service according to the present invention. In this embodiment, after the service terminal finishes ordering the IPTV service, it sends a request to the service support system in the IPTV service system through the EPG portal middleware to start the service initiation process of a certain IPTV service that has been ordered. The process specifically includes the following steps:

Step 501, the EPG portal middleware receives the service start request sent by the service terminal, the service start request is a specific form in the service acquisition request, so as to trigger the start of a certain subscribed IPTV service;

Step 502, the EPG portal middleware sends an information acquisition request to the business support system according to the service initiation request, the information acquisition request is generated by the EPG portal middleware according to the service initiation request, specifically, the service initiation is sent locally according to the service initiation request The requested user information, or parse and obtain the user information carried in the service initiation request, and use the user information and the service initiation request as an information acquisition request. Further, the EPG portal middleware can also identify the company to which the IPTV service requested to start belongs and its type according to the service initiation request, for example, the multimedia service belonging to Company A. After identifying such information, the EPG portal middleware can Send the service start request to the corresponding subsystem under the business support system of the corresponding company, for example, to the multimedia distribution subsystem under the business support system of Company A;

Step 503: When the service support system receives the information acquisition request, similar to the process of ordering and unsubscribing the service, it analyzes and identifies the user information, performs user authentication according to the user information, or proceeds according to the service initiation request identified through analysis. Service authentication, or can combine above-mentioned user authentication and service authentication to carry out authentication, judge whether this user can start this IPTV service;

Step 504, when the authentication is passed, the service support system starts the IPTV service subscribed by the user, and returns the start success response and the navigation and positioning information of the IPTV to the EPG portal middleware as service information. When the authentication fails, the business support system can return the startup failure response as business information to the EPG portal middleware, and further can return information such as failure reasons to the EPG portal middleware, so as to provide it to the user;

Step 505, the EPG portal middleware converts the received business information into an information page, and the specific implementation form can adopt the information page conversion method in the first embodiment above.

The technical scheme of the present embodiment realizes conveniently that any company's service terminal starts the subscribed IPTV service in other company's business support systems through the EPG portal middleware, realizes the compatibility of each company's IPTV system, and is beneficial to IPTV The promotion of the business can also enable users and operators to make full use of existing resources, and the scheme has good scalability and strong scalability.

Embodiment 5 of IPTV Service Realization Method

FIG. 6 is a signaling flow chart of Embodiment 5 of the Internet TV service implementation method of the present invention. This embodiment is specifically a process for a service terminal to obtain a live broadcast service through the EPG portal middleware. The live broadcast service, similar to ordinary broadcast TV, is a service that actively pushes video and audio streams to multiple service terminals at the same time on the live broadcast service subsystem in the IPTV service support system. With the support of the data transmission network, the live broadcast service subsystem can provide live broadcast service to business terminals through multicast, and improve the utilization efficiency of network bandwidth as much as possible; when the data transmission network does not support multicast, the live broadcast service The subsystem can provide live broadcast services for service terminals in unicast mode. In order to obtain live broadcast services, usually service terminals need to obtain location information, such as a specific broadcast channel, and then join the channel to receive data. The live broadcast service acquisition process in this embodiment specifically includes the following steps:

Step 601. The EPG portal middleware receives the live broadcast service acquisition request sent by the service terminal. The live broadcast service acquisition request is a specific form of the service acquisition request, which includes the live broadcast service identifier requested by the service terminal, and the service terminal uses this to request Obtain the location information of the live broadcast service, such as the channel and path to enter the live broadcast service, and other relevant information;

Step 602: The EPG portal middleware sends an information acquisition request to the live broadcast service subsystem according to the live broadcast service acquisition request. The information acquisition request is generated by the EPG portal middleware according to the live broadcast service acquisition request, and is specifically obtained by parsing the live broadcast service acquisition request The live service identifier generates a resource location request including the live service identifier, which is used to determine the information of the edge streaming server where the program media stream of the requested live service is located, and sends the resource location request as an information acquisition request to the live service subsystem;

Step 603: When the live service subsystem receives the resource location request, it parses and identifies the live service identifier, determines the edge streaming media server where the program media stream of the live broadcast service is located according to the live service identifier, obtains the server information, and uses the server Information, that is, positioning information, is returned to the EPG portal middleware as business information;

Step 604, the EPG portal middleware converts the received business information into an information page. The specific implementation form can adopt the information page conversion method in the above-mentioned embodiment one. This information page is the playback control page that can navigate the live broadcast service, and then the The playback control page is sent to the service terminal;

Step 605, the service terminal sends a media stream receiving request for obtaining the media stream of the specified live service program to the live service subsystem according to the server information in the play control page;

Step 606, the live service subsystem pushes the live media stream to the service terminal according to the media stream receiving request, and the service terminal finally presents the content of the media stream to the user;

Step 607, when the live broadcast service ends, the service terminal sends record information, such as log information, to the EPG portal middleware;

Step 608, the EPG portal middleware sends the recording information to the live broadcast service subsystem.

The technical solution of this embodiment, through the EPG portal middleware, conveniently realizes that any company's business terminal can receive the live broadcast service pushed by other company's live broadcast service subsystems, realizes the compatibility of IPTV systems of various companies, and is beneficial to IPTV business The promotion of the scheme can also enable users and operators to make full use of existing resources, and the scheme has good scalability and strong scalability.

Embodiment 6 of IPTV Service Realization Method

FIG. 7 is a signaling flow chart of Embodiment 6 of the Internet TV service implementation method of the present invention. This embodiment is specifically a process for a service terminal to obtain an on-demand service through the EPG portal middleware. The so-called on-demand service, that is, video on demand (Video On Demand, hereinafter referred to as VOD), the on-demand service subsystem in the service support system is also called an interactive TV on demand system. The on-demand service is a service in which users can choose some pre-recorded videos to watch at any time. The on-demand service acquisition process of this embodiment specifically includes the following steps:

Step 701. The EPG portal middleware receives the on-demand service acquisition request sent by the service terminal. The on-demand service acquisition request is a specific form in the service acquisition request, which includes the identification of the on-demand service of the service terminal, that is, the on-demand service identification, and the service terminal In order to request to obtain the location information of the on-demand service, such as the channel and path to enter the on-demand service, and other related information;

Step 702. The EPG portal middleware sends an information acquisition request to the on-demand service subsystem according to the on-demand service acquisition request. The information acquisition request is generated by the EPG portal middleware according to the on-demand service acquisition request, and is specifically obtained by parsing the on-demand service acquisition request. The on-demand service identifier generates a resource location request containing the on-demand service identifier, which is used to determine the information of the edge streaming media server where the program media stream of the requested on-demand service is located, and sends the resource location request to the on-demand service subsystem as an information acquisition request;

Step 703, when the on-demand service subsystem receives the resource location request, it parses and identifies the on-demand service identifier, determines the edge streaming server where the program media stream of the on-demand service is located according to the on-demand service identifier, obtains the server information, and sends the server Information, that is, positioning information is returned to the EPG portal middleware as business information;

Step 704, the EPG portal middleware converts the service information received into an information page, and the specific implementation form can adopt the information page conversion mode in the above-mentioned embodiment one, and this information page can navigate the playing control page of the on-demand service, and then the The playback control page is sent to the service terminal;

Step 705, the service terminal sends a media stream receiving request to the on-demand service subsystem to obtain the specified on-demand service program media stream according to the server information in the play control page;

Step 706, the on-demand service subsystem pushes the on-demand media stream to the service terminal according to the media stream receiving request, and the service terminal finally presents the content of the media stream to the user;

Step 707, when the on-demand service ends, the service terminal sends record information, such as log information, to the EPG portal middleware;

Step 708, the EPG portal middleware sends the record information to the on-demand service subsystem.

The technical scheme of the present embodiment realizes that any company's business terminal can receive the on-demand service that the on-demand service subsystem of other companies pushes by the EPG portal middleware conveniently, has realized the compatibility of each company's IPTV system, is conducive to IP The promotion of PTV business can also enable users and operators to make full use of existing resources, and the scheme has good scalability and strong scalability.

Embodiment 7 of IPTV Service Realization Method

FIG. 8 is a signaling flow chart of Embodiment 7 of the Internet TV service implementation method of the present invention. This embodiment is specifically a process for a service terminal to obtain a time-shift service through the EPG portal middleware. The so-called Time Shifting TV (TSTV for short) service means that when a user is watching a video program, he can press the back button at any time to watch the content that has been played, or press the fast forward key to skip the content that has been watched, or You can also press the pause button to stop the video playback at any time, or press the play button to resume the video playback at any time. The time-shift service is generally provided by the time-shift service subsystem in the service support system. The time-shift service acquisition process in this embodiment specifically includes the following steps:

Step 801, the EPG portal middleware receives the time-shift service acquisition request sent by the service terminal. The time-shift service acquisition request is a specific form of the service acquisition request, and the service terminal requests to obtain a time-shift service control page so as to play the current Time-shift control for video services;

Step 802: The EPG portal middleware sends an information acquisition request to the time-shift service subsystem according to the time-shift service acquisition request. The information acquisition request is generated by the EPG portal middleware according to the time-shift service acquisition request, specifically according to the time-shift service Obtain the request to obtain user information, analyze and identify the time-shift operations required by the service terminal, such as forward and backward, and obtain the video service identifier currently played by the service terminal. The above can usually be a time-shift service identifier, and then generate The information acquisition request of the time-shift service identifier is sent to the time-shift service subsystem;

Step 803: When the time-shift service subsystem receives the information acquisition request, it can perform authentication based on user information, video service identification and other information, determine whether the user is eligible to obtain the time-shift service, and can perform time-shift operations according to the user's authority. Information, that is, positioning information is returned to the EPG portal middleware as business information, such as returning forward, backward, pause, continue and other operation information;

Step 804, the EPG portal middleware converts the received service information into an information page. The specific implementation form can adopt the information page conversion method in the first embodiment above. Send the playback control page to the service terminal;

Step 805, the service terminal sends a time-shift operation reception request to the time-shift service subsystem according to the time-shift operation information in the play control page;

Step 806, the time-shift service subsystem receives the request according to the time-shift operation and controls the push of the current video service media stream to the service terminal;

Step 807, when the service ends, the service terminal sends record information, such as log information, to the EPG portal middleware;

Step 808, the EPG portal middleware sends the record information to the time-shift service subsystem.

The technical solution of this embodiment, through the EPG portal middleware, conveniently realizes that any company's service terminal can perform time-shift control on other companies' video services, realizes the compatibility of the IPTV systems of each company, and is conducive to the promotion of IPTV services , and enable users and operators to make full use of existing resources, and the scheme has good scalability and strong scalability.

Embodiment 8 of IPTV Service Realization Method

FIG. 9 is a signaling flow chart of Embodiment 8 of the method for implementing an Internet TV service according to the present invention. In specific applications, other services can also be obtained in a manner similar to the above-mentioned way of obtaining live broadcast services and on-demand services. Service terminals can obtain other service services from other service subsystems through the EPG portal middleware, such as obtaining non-audio-visual services from the value-added service subsystem. Services, such as access to real-time weather forecasts, train schedules, flight schedules and online news and other value-added services. Service terminals can obtain non-audio-visual service information through the EPG portal middleware for users to browse. The following takes a user viewing flight information as an example to introduce the process for a user to watch non-audio-visual services. The process of this embodiment specifically includes the following steps:

Step 901. The EPG portal middleware receives the flight information acquisition request sent by the service terminal. The flight information acquisition request is a specific form of the service acquisition request, and the service terminal requests flight information by this;

Step 902. The EPG portal middleware sends an information acquisition request to the value-added service subsystem according to the flight information acquisition request. The information acquisition request is generated by the EPG portal middleware according to the flight information acquisition request. Specifically, it can be generated according to the flight information acquisition request. The positioning request is used to determine the information of the edge streaming media server where the data of the flight information is provided, and sends the resource positioning request as an information acquisition request to the value-added service subsystem;

Step 903, when the value-added service subsystem receives the resource location request, determine the edge streaming media server where the data of the flight information is located according to the resource location request, obtain the server information, and return the server information as business information to the EPG portal middleware ;

Step 904, the EPG portal middleware converts the received business information into an information page. The specific implementation form can adopt the information page conversion method in the above-mentioned embodiment 1. This information page is a playback control page that can navigate flight information, and then the The playback control page is sent to the service terminal;

Step 905, the service terminal sends a receiving request for obtaining flight information to the value-added service subsystem according to the server information in the play control page;

Step 906, the value-added service subsystem pushes the flight information to the service terminal according to the received request, and the service terminal finally presents the flight information to the user;

Step 907: After the user instructs to stop browsing the flight information, the service terminal sends record information, such as log information, to the EPG portal middleware;

Step 908, the EPG portal middleware sends the record information to the value-added service subsystem.

The technical scheme of the present embodiment realizes conveniently that any company's service terminal can obtain other services from other company's business subsystems through the EPG portal middleware, realizes the compatibility of each company's IPTV system, and is beneficial to the IPTV business The promotion of the scheme can also enable users and operators to make full use of existing resources, and the scheme has good scalability and strong scalability.

In the technical solution of the above-mentioned embodiment, the information interaction between the business terminal and the EPG portal middleware can be realized based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HyperText Transfer Protocol, hereinafter referred to as HTTP), and the EPG portal middleware uses Hypertext Markup Language (HyperText Markup Language) Text Mark-up Language (hereinafter referred to as HTML) generates information pages; the business management system and business support system in the IPTV business system can interact with the EPG portal middleware based on the Simple Object Access Protocol (hereinafter referred to as SOAP), Using eXtensible Markup Language (XML for short) to transmit pages, the openness and scalability of the SOAP protocol can facilitate the access of IPTV service systems of different companies to the EPG portal middleware and facilitate the expansion of the IPTV network. Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a preferred service implementation mode using the IPTV service implementation method of the present invention, showing the protocol on which information is transmitted between network elements. The business browsing and business services provided to the business terminal through the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the present invention can be separated through the EPG portal middleware, which is convenient for organizing and processing separately.

It can be known from the technical solutions of the above embodiments that the EPG portal middleware can manage the relevant business logic and display templates of browsing services of various IPTV services. The IPTV service system of each company can interact with the EPG portal middleware based on a certain protocol by providing an interface with the EPG portal middleware. The EPG portal middleware requests relevant basic data from each business subsystem, and can combine these basic data with its own managed business logic and display templates to generate an EPG information page and provide it to the business terminal. The above technical solution conveniently realizes the compatibility and interoperability among the IPTV systems of various companies.

In the present invention, the EPG portal middleware is similar to a network agent, and when the amount of data browsed by the business is small, and the network bandwidth and calculation load taken are also small, all the data browsed by the business can be processed and processed by the EPG portal middleware Forward. In the case of a large number of users, in order to ensure the real-time and reliability of data processing, it is also necessary to consider the performance of the EPG portal middleware. The EPG portal middleware can be designed by adopting cluster mode and distributed computing method, so as to improve its service quality in the case of a large number of users.

Embodiment of IPTV service implementation equipment

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a specific embodiment of an IPTV service implementation device according to the present invention. The device is EPG portal middleware, and can implement the technical solution of any embodiment of the IPTV service realization method of the present invention. The structure of the EPG portal middleware specifically includes a terminal interface module 51 , a system interface module 52 and a conversion module 53 . Wherein, the terminal interface module 51 is used to receive the service acquisition request that the service terminal sends; The system interface module 52 is used to send the information acquisition request to the IPTV service system according to the service acquisition request, and is used to receive the service information returned by the IPTV service system; the conversion module 53 It is connected with the terminal interface module 51 and the system interface module 52 respectively, and is used to convert the service information into an information page, and send it to the service terminal through the terminal interface module 51 .

In a specific application, the EPG portal middleware may also include an acquisition module 54 and a storage module 55 . The obtaining module 54 is connected to the terminal interface module 51 and the system interface module 52 respectively, and is used to obtain user information or service identification according to the service obtaining request, and provide it to the system interface module 52 to send to the IPTV service system. The storage module 55 is connected with the conversion module 53 and is used for storing the display template for the conversion module 53 to query and convert the information page.

The EPG portal middleware of the present invention can execute the technical solution of any embodiment of the IPTV service implementation method of the present invention, and can facilitate the realization of service browsing interoperability in the IPTV service.

Embodiment of IPTV service realization system

As shown in Figure 12, it is a schematic structural diagram of a specific embodiment of the IPTV service implementation system of the present invention, including the EPG portal middleware of the present invention, carrying IPTV services, and its specific structure also includes service terminals of various companies, and IPTV service systems of various companies , such as the service terminals 10, 20 and 30 of companies A, B and C, and the IPTV service systems 11, 21 and 31 of companies A, B and C; each service terminal is connected to the terminal interface module of the EPG portal middleware 50; The IPTV service system is connected to the system interface modules of the EPG portal middleware 50 respectively.

Each IPTV service system generally includes a service management system and a service support system, and the service support system generally includes a live broadcast service subsystem, an on-demand service subsystem, a time-shift service subsystem, and a value-added service subsystem, and other subsystems that carry different IPTV services.

The advantages of the method, device and system for implementing IPTV services of the present invention are that the present invention proposes a set of technical solutions to solve the problem of interconnection and intercommunication between service browsing of IPTV systems of various companies. Through the technical solution of the present invention, business browsing and business services can be effectively separated, which provides the possibility of developing a large number of value-added services, and separates service providers from content providers and system providers, which contributes to the healthy development of the industry chain. Technical guarantee is provided. At the same time, it also provides profit points for operators to operate value-added services in the IPTV system. In addition, because the business logic and display templates of each business of the IPTV system will change with the change of the business, so, considering the cost and benefit, choosing the method of developing a unified EPG portal middleware is the solution to the problem of business browsing at this stage. A better solution to the interconnection problem.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the steps for realizing the above-mentioned method embodiments can be completed by hardware related to program instructions, and the aforementioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, the It includes the steps of the above method embodiments; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disk and other various media that can store program codes.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: it can still be Modifications are made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent replacements are made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the present invention.

Claims (20)

1. A method for realizing an Internet TV service, characterized in that, comprising: receiving a service acquisition request sent by the service terminal; Send an information acquisition request to the Internet TV service system according to the service acquisition request; receiving the service information returned by the Internet TV service system; Converting the service information into an information page and sending it to the service terminal. 2. The method for realizing the Internet TV service according to claim 1, characterized in that, according to the service acquisition request, sending the information acquisition request to the Internet TV service system is specifically: Obtain corresponding user information according to the service acquisition request; Sending the user information and the service acquisition request as an information acquisition request to a service management system or a service support system in the Internet TV service system. 3. The method for realizing the Internet TV service according to claim 2, characterized in that, after the Internet TV service system receives the information acquisition request, further comprising: The service management system or service support system parses and identifies the user information and/or the service acquisition request from the information acquisition request; The service management system or service support system performs authentication according to the user information and/or the service acquisition request; The service management system or service support system returns corresponding service information according to the authentication result. 4. The Internet TV service implementation method according to claim 3, wherein the service acquisition request is a service order request, and the service management system returns corresponding service information according to the authentication result, specifically: When the business management system judges that the user corresponding to the user information is qualified to order services, record the order relationship locally, and return a successful order response as the service information; or When the service management system judges that the user corresponding to the user information is not qualified to order a service, it returns an order failure response as the service information. 5. The Internet TV service implementation method according to claim 3, wherein the service acquisition request is a service unsubscribe request, and the service management system returns corresponding service information according to the authentication result, specifically: When the service management system judges that the user corresponding to the user information has the qualification to unsubscribe, cancel the locally stored subscription relationship, and return a successful unsubscribe response as the service information; or When the service management system judges that the user corresponding to the user information is not qualified to unsubscribe from the service, an unsubscribe failure response is returned as the service information. 6. The Internet TV service implementation method according to claim 3, wherein the service acquisition request is a service query request, and the service support system returns corresponding service information according to the authentication result, specifically: When the service support system judges that the user corresponding to the user information is eligible for service inquiry, collect locally provided Internet TV service-related information as the service information and return it; or When the service support system judges that the user corresponding to the user information is not eligible for service inquiry, it returns a query failure response as the service information. 7. The Internet TV service implementation method according to claim 3, wherein the service acquisition request is a service start request, and the service support system returns corresponding service information according to the authentication result, specifically: When the service support system judges that the user corresponding to the user information has the service start qualification, return the start success response and the navigation and positioning information of the service specified in the service start request as the service information; or When the service support system judges that the user corresponding to the user information does not have the service start qualification, it returns a start failure response as the service information. 8. The method for realizing the Internet TV service according to claim 1, characterized in that, sending the information acquisition request to the Internet TV service system according to the service acquisition request is specifically: Analyzing and acquiring a service identifier from the service acquisition request; Determine a corresponding service support system in the Internet TV service system according to the service identifier, and generate a resource location request including the service identifier; Sending the resource location request to the service support system as an information acquisition request. 9. The Internet TV service implementation method according to claim 8, wherein the service identifier is a live broadcast service identifier or an on-demand service identifier or a time-shift service identifier or a value-added service identifier, and the live broadcast service identifier corresponding to each of the service identifiers After the service subsystem or the on-demand service subsystem or the time-shift service subsystem or the value-added service subsystem receives the resource location request, it also includes: the live service subsystem or the on-demand service subsystem or the time-shift service subsystem or the value-added service subsystem The service subsystem locally queries the location information of the corresponding live broadcast service, on-demand service, time-shift service, or value-added service according to the service identifier, and returns the location information as the service information. 10. The Internet TV service implementation method according to claim 9, characterized in that after converting the returned service information into an information page and sending it to the service terminal, further comprising: The service terminal parses and obtains the positioning information contained in the information page; The service terminal sends a receiving request to the corresponding live broadcast service subsystem or on-demand service subsystem or time-shift service subsystem or value-added service subsystem according to the positioning information; After the live service subsystem or on-demand service subsystem or time-shift service subsystem or value-added service subsystem receives the receiving request sent by the service terminal, the live service or on-demand service or time-shift service or The value-added service is pushed to the service terminal. 11. The method for realizing the Internet TV service according to claim 10, characterized in that, after the service terminal receives the live service or on-demand service or time-shift service or value-added service that has been pushed, it further includes: The log information sent by the service terminal is received, and correspondingly forwarded to the live service subsystem or the on-demand service subsystem or the time-shift service subsystem or the value-added service subsystem. 12. The method for implementing any Internet TV service according to claims 1-11, characterized in that converting the service information into an information page is as follows: Querying a corresponding display template locally according to the business information; Filling the business information into the display template to generate the information page. 13. The method for implementing any Internet TV service according to claims 1-11, wherein interacting with the service terminal specifically comprises: interacting with the service terminal based on a hypertext transfer protocol. 14. The method for implementing any Internet TV service according to claims 1-11, wherein the interaction with the Internet TV service system specifically includes: interacting with the Internet TV service system based on Simple Object Access Protocol. 15. An Internet TV service implementation device, characterized by comprising: A terminal interface module, configured to receive a service acquisition request sent by a service terminal; A system interface module, configured to send an information acquisition request to the Internet TV service system according to the service acquisition request, and to receive the service information returned by the Internet TV service system; A conversion module is connected to the terminal interface module and the system interface module respectively, and is used to convert the service information into an information page and send it to the service terminal through the terminal interface module. 16. The Internet TV service implementation device according to claim 15, further comprising: An acquisition module, configured to acquire user information or service identifiers according to the service acquisition request, and provide them to the system interface module to send to the Internet TV service system. 17. The Internet TV service implementation device according to claim 15, further comprising: The storage module is used to store the display template, so as to provide the conversion module to query and convert the information page. 18. The Internet TV service implementation device according to claim 15, further comprising: The log forwarding module is used to receive the log information sent by the service terminal and forward it to the Internet TV service system. 19. A system using any of the Internet TV service implementation devices as claimed in claims 15-18, further comprising: a service terminal and an Internet TV service system; the service terminal is connected to the terminal interface module; The Internet TV service system is connected to the system interface module. 20. The Internet TV service implementation system according to claim 19, characterized in that: the Internet TV service system includes a service management system and a service support system, and the service support system includes a live broadcast service subsystem and an on-demand service subsystem , time-shift service subsystem and value-added service subsystem.

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