GB2337911A - Video on demand system with random access - Google Patents
Video on demand system with random access Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2337911A GB2337911A GB9827013A GB9827013A GB2337911A GB 2337911 A GB2337911 A GB 2337911A GB 9827013 A GB9827013 A GB 9827013A GB 9827013 A GB9827013 A GB 9827013A GB 2337911 A GB2337911 A GB 2337911A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- group
- scene
- video program
- user
- time
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 12
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 abstract description 8
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000002452 interceptive effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003993 interaction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
- H04N21/25—Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies
- H04N21/258—Client or end-user data management, e.g. managing client capabilities, user preferences or demographics, processing of multiple end-users preferences to derive collaborative data
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
- H04N21/23—Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
- H04N21/238—Interfacing the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. adapting the transmission rate of a video stream to network bandwidth; Processing of multiplex streams
- H04N21/2387—Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N7/00—Television systems
- H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
- H04N7/173—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
- H04N7/17309—Transmission or handling of upstream communications
- H04N7/17336—Handling of requests in head-ends
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Multimedia (AREA)
- Signal Processing (AREA)
- Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
- Computer Graphics (AREA)
- Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)
- Television Signal Processing For Recording (AREA)
Abstract
Users requesting the same video program in a predetermined interval are registered into a group, so that for a particular video program different groups that have requested that program start receiving it at different times and have different elapsed times from the program start. A user making a random access request to a selected scene of the program is released from the registered group, and a search is made amongst the groups to determine which group will have the selected scene displayed in the shortest time. A scene store 350 stores a list of scenes together with corresponding access times. A group search unit 316 compares the access time of the scene selected for random access with the elapsed times of the groups and selects as a target group that group which has the largest elapsed time which is still smaller than the access time for the selected scene. The elapsed time of the target group is then monitored, and when that elapsed time becomes equal to the selected scene access time, the user who made the random access request is registered with the target group so that the requested scene will then be displayed to the requesting user. The arrangement thus provides a video on demand system capable of performing random access without using an additional transmission channel.
Description
2337911 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EMBODYING RANDOM ACCESS FOR USE IN A
VIDEO ON DEMAND SYSTEM The present invention relates to a video on demand system; and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for use in a video on demand system capable of performing a random access without using an additional transmission channel.
As the so-called information superhighway is being developed, a wide communication channel which interconnects households and businesses promises to provide many services to those who are connected to it. These services may include banking at home, instant access to large databases and real time interaction with virtual communities of people with similar interests. of the services that may be available in the superhighway, one that has attracted a great deal of corporate and media attention is the supply of video on demand (VOD) services.
Desirable VOD services may include movies, sporting events, interactive games, home shopping, textual information, educational programs and arts programs. Videos generally include both video and audio portions, although a video may only have an image portion as in textual information, or only an audio portion as in, e.g., music.
1 1 Users would like to have videos of their choice to be available at the times and locations of their convenience. It would be advantageous if the videos could be delivered by such transmission media as telephone, cable and satellite networks. It would also be desirable for the videos to be compatible with readily available display systems, e.g., standard televisions or personal computers.
A conventional VOD system is usually equipped with a video storage block storing a plurality of video programs, a service manager and a network interface. In the VOD system, under the control of the service manager, in response to requests from a number of users, the video programs are retrieved from the video storage block; and then the retrieved video programs are supplied to the users through the network is interface.
It is well known in the art that the larger the transmission rate of the video storage block is, the faster the data service speed in the VOD system becomes. Since, however, the transmission rate of the video storage block is practically limited, a plurality of groups for a certain video program are registered and the video program is preferably served not on a userby-user basis but on a group-by-group basis according to a group-based service technique, wherein each group has one or more users requesting the video program in a predetermined interval. That is to say, the video program is not served to each individual user for each request, but is served to a plurality of users with a predetermined period, simultaneously.
In the meantime, if a certain user requests random access to a part of the video program under service, the user is released from the group and an individual service for each user starts. Accordingly, since predetermined transmission channels must be assigned for the user requesting a random access, the more requests for the random access there are, the lower the efficiency of transmission channels will become.
Embodiments of the present invention may provide a method and apparatus for use in a video on demand system capable of performing a random access without is using an additional transmission channel.
In accordance with the present invention, thereis provided a method for providing a random access in a video on demand system which registers a plurality of groups for a video program and serves the video program on a group-by-group basis, wherein each group has one or more users requesting the video program in a predetermined interval, comprising the steps of:
(a) checking if the random access for the video program is requested by a user; (b) releasing, if the random access is requested, the user from said each group; 3 is (c) transferring a plurality of scenes for the video program to the user, wherein each scene represents a part selected from the video program; (d) searching, if a scene is selected by the user, an adjacent group for the scene, wherein the scene is capable of being displayed to the adjacent group in a short time; and (e) registering the user in the adjacent group.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a video on demand (VOD) system employing a random access in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 represents a flow chart for illustrating a random access for use in a VOD system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 provides an exemplary list of data stored in the service information memory shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 depicts an exemplary list of data stored in the scene storage block shown in Fig. 1.
- 4 is Referring to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a schematic block diagram of a video on demand (VOD) system 100 employing a random access technique of the present invention. The VOD system 100 comprises a plurality of user devices (UD's) 110 to 112, a network interface 120 and a server 300.
For the sake of simplicity, there are shown only three UD's, i.e., UD1 110, UD2 111 and LIDN 112, in Fig. 1. Each of the UD ' s is a conventional user device which communicates with the server 300 through the network interface 120. Each UD may request not only a video program itself but also a random access for a specific part of the video program in accordance with a user's command and decodes bit streams for the video program served from the server 300 so as to display the decoded bit streams to the user.
The network interface 120 provides requests from a plurality of UD's 110 to 112 to the server 300 and transfers various kinds of messages or data from the server 300 to one or more UD's in response to the requests thereof.
The server 300 includes a service manager 310, a video storage block 320, a service information memory 330 and a scene storage block 350 and communicates with a plurality of UD's through the network interface 120.
The video storage block 320 stores a plurality of video programs. e.g., movies, sporting events, interactive games, home shopping, textual information, educational programs and arts programs, on a program-by-program basis.
is The scene storage block 350 stores a number of scenes for each video program, wherein each scene of a certain video program represents a part of the video program and has been coupled in advance from the video storage block 320 as shown in a dashed arrow. Since each scene can be displayed after a predetermined access time from a starting point of the video program, it is preferable to store each scene with its predetermined access time. Fig. 4 shows that a scene 1 of the video program 11BENHUR11 may be displayed at the access time of minutes and the period of the scenes is 5 minutes. The access time is determined based on the storage capacity of the scene storage block 350. For example, the larger the storage capacity is, the smaller the period of access time for all the scenes becomes.
In the meantime, the service manager 310 has a user register 312, a random access judgement unit 314, a group search unit 316 and a group update unit 318 so that the service manager 310 registers a multiplicity of groups for each video program, serves the video program on a group-by group basis and gains random accesses to the video program requested by UD's.
Specifically, the user register 312 endows one or more uD,s, requesting the video program in a predetermined interval, with an identical group; and provides information on the UD's endowed with the identical group to the network interface 120. The user register 312 controls the video 6 storage block 320 to couple the video program requested by the group of UD's with the network interface 120 so that the video program is served to the UD' s endowed with the identical group in accordance with the information on the UD's.
Further, the user register 312 couples service information with the service information memory 330. Fig. 3 shows that the service information comprises the title of the video program, a group identification (M) for identifying each group, user ID's for identifying the UD's of each group and an elapsed time, i.e., a term during which the video program is to be served to each group from the starting point thereof. For example, the video program 11BENHUR11 is served to a number of user ID's, e.g., V021, V006 and so on, of a group ID "BE 0111 during 12 minutes and 52 seconds while is another video program "STAR WARW is to be served to a number of user ID's, e.g., V254, V019 and so on, of a group ID 11ST 0111 during 13 minutes and 25 seconds.
Referring back to Fig. 1, the random access judgement unit 314 checks if one of the UD's requests a random access to the video program under service; and, if it checked that the random access has been requested, the random access judgement unit 314 makes the user register 312 release the UD from the group thereof and transfer the plurality of scenes for the video program stored in the scene storage block 350 to the uD through the network interface 120.
In case one scene is selected by the UD, the group search - 7 unit 316 compares the predetermined access time with the elapsed time of each of the plurality of groups for the program so as to select an adjacent group with a largest elapsed time which is still smaller than the predetermined access time. Specifically, if each scene itself is selected by the UD and its predetermined access time is delivered from the network interface 120, the group search unit 316 detects one or more groups, on which the program is being served, from the service information memory 330. In order that the selected scene is displayed to at least one groups, the elapsed time thereof is required to be smaller than the predetermined access time of the selected scene. Accordingly, one or more groups with a smaller elapsed time than the predetermined access time are detected. In order to minimize is the waiting time of the user who has required the random access to the video program. one group with the largest elapsed time among the detected groups must be selected as the adjacent group.
The group update unit 318 observes continuously the elapsed time of the adjacent group so as to detect if the elapsed time of the adjacent group turns to be equal to the predetermined access time. If the predetermined access time is equal to the elapsed time of the adjacent group, the group update unit 318 updates the adjacent group by registering the UD in the adjacent group; and delivers the updated service information of the adjacent group to the network interface 120 - 8 11 so that the video program is served to the UD within the adjacent group through the network interface 120. Further, the updated service information of the adjacent group is delivered to the service information memory 330 to be stored therein.
Referring to Fig. 2, there is represented a flow chart for illustrating a random access technique for use in a VOD system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the VOD system registers a plurality of groups for each video program and serves each video program on a group-by-group basis, wherein one or more users requesting the video program in a predetermined interval is indexed with an identical group.
At step S40, it is checked if a random access to the is video program under service is requested by one of the users. If it is checked that the random access has been requested, at step S50, the user who has requested the random access is released from the group thereof and a plurality of scenes for the video program is transferred to the user, wherein each scene represents a part selected from the video program.
At step S60, it is checked if one scene among the plurality of scenes is selected by the user. If it is checked that one scene is selected, at step S70, the predetermined access time of the selected scene is compared with the elapsed time of one or more groups on which the video program is being served; and an adjacent group with a largest elapsed time which is still smaller than the predetermined access time is detected, wherein the selected scene is capable of being displayed to the adjacent group in a shortest time. Specifically, if one or more groups with a smaller elapsed time than the predetermined access time are detected and, then, one group with a largest elapsed time among the detected groups is selected as the adjacent group.
At step S80, the elapsed time of the adjacent group is continuously being observed so that the elapsed time of the adjacent group is checked to be equal to the predetermined access time. If the elapsed time of the adjacent group turns to be equal to the predetermined access time, at step S90, the adjacent group is updated by registering the user in the adjacent group so that the video program is served to the user is within the adjacent group.
While the present invention has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments only, other modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims.
- 10
Claims (11)
1. A method for providing a random access in a video on demand system which registers a plurality of groups for a video program and serves the video program on a group-by-group basis, wherein one or more users requesting the video program in a predetermined interval are indexed with an identical group, comprising the steps of:
(a) checking if the random access to the video program is requested by a user; (b) releasing, if the random access is requested, the user from said each group; (c)transferring a plurality of scenes for the video program to the user, wherein each scene represents a part is selected from the video program; (d) searching, if a scene is selected by the user, an adjacent group for the scene, wherein the scene is capable of being displayed to the adjacent group in a shortest time; and (e) registering the user in the adjacent group.
2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said each scene is identified by a predetermined access time, said each scene being displayed in the predetermined access time based on the starting point of the video program.
3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein said step (d) includes the steps of:
(di) inspecting, if the scene is selected by the user, the predetermined access time of the scene; and (d2) comparing the predetermined access time with an elapsed time of each group of the plurality of groups, to detect the adjacent group with a largest elapsed time which is still smaller than the predetermined access time, wherein, for said each group with the elapsed time, the video program has been served to said each group during the elapsed time from the starting point thereof.
4. The method as recited in claim 2 or 3, wherein said step (e) includes the steps of:
(el) detecting whether or not the elapsed time of the adjacent group turns to be equal to the predetermined access time; and (e2) registering, if the elapsed time of the adjacent group is equal to the predetermined access time, the user in the adjacent group and, if otherwise, repeating step (el).
5. An apparatus for providing a random access in a video on demand system which registers a plurality of groups for a video program and serves the video program on a group-by-group basis, wherein one or more users requesting the video program in a predetermined interval is indexed with an identical 12 - group, comprising: means for checking if a user requests the random access for the video program; means for storing a plurality of scenes for the video program and transferring the plurality of scenes to the user, wherein each scene represents a part selected from the video program; means for searching, if a scene is selected by the user, an adjacent group for the scene, wherein the scene is capable of being displayed to the adjacent group in a shortest time; and means for registering the user in the adjacent group.
6. The apparatus as recited in claim 5, further comprising means for releasing the user from said each group.
7. The apparatus as recited in claim 5 or 6, wherein said searching means includes means for comparing a predetermined access time of the scene with an elapsed times of each of the plurality of groups, to select the adjacent group with a largest elapsed time which is still smaller than the predetermined access time, wherein each scene is identified by a predetermined access time, said each scene being displayed at the predetermined access time from the starting point of the video program and, for said each group with the elapsed time, the video program has been served to said each 13 - group during the elapsed time from the starting point of the video program.
8. The apparatus as recited in claim 7, further comprising means for storing one or more users for said each group and the elapsed time thereof on a group-by-group basis.
9. The apparatus as recited in claim 7 or 8, wherein said registering means includes:
means for detecting whether or not the elapsed time of the adjacent group turns to be equal to the predetermined access time; and means for registering, if the elapsed time of the adjacent group is equal to the predetermined access time, the is user in the adjacent group.
10. An apparatus constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to or as shown in Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.
11. A method constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to or as shown in Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.
14
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| KR1019980019435A KR19990086460A (en) | 1998-05-28 | 1998-05-28 | Implementation of Random Access in On-demand Video System |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB9827013D0 GB9827013D0 (en) | 1999-02-03 |
| GB2337911A true GB2337911A (en) | 1999-12-01 |
Family
ID=19537837
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9827013A Withdrawn GB2337911A (en) | 1998-05-28 | 1998-12-08 | Video on demand system with random access |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| KR (1) | KR19990086460A (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2337911A (en) |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KR100901347B1 (en) * | 2007-10-17 | 2009-06-05 | 주식회사 다산네트웍스 | Set-top box and multimedia contents providing server with simultaneous multimedia contents viewing |
| KR101293005B1 (en) * | 2011-12-20 | 2013-08-12 | 성균관대학교산학협력단 | Vod transmitting system using vod scheme combining fast broadcasting and patching |
Citations (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5357276A (en) * | 1992-12-01 | 1994-10-18 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Method of providing video on demand with VCR like functions |
| US5629732A (en) * | 1994-03-29 | 1997-05-13 | The Trustees Of Columbia University In The City Of New York | Viewer controllable on-demand multimedia service |
| EP0797355A2 (en) * | 1996-03-21 | 1997-09-24 | Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. | Digital broadcast receiver |
| GB2317082A (en) * | 1996-09-04 | 1998-03-11 | Ibm | Distribution of digitally encoded presentations |
Family Cites Families (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5461415A (en) * | 1994-03-15 | 1995-10-24 | International Business Machines Corporation | Look-ahead scheduling to support video-on-demand applications |
| US5453779A (en) * | 1994-03-15 | 1995-09-26 | International Business Machines Corporation | Scheduling policies with grouping for providing VCR control functions in a video server |
| US5512934A (en) * | 1994-12-29 | 1996-04-30 | At&T Corp. | System and method for transmission of programming on demand |
| US5631694A (en) * | 1996-02-01 | 1997-05-20 | Ibm Corporation | Maximum factor selection policy for batching VOD requests |
| JPH09261610A (en) * | 1996-03-19 | 1997-10-03 | Toshiba Corp | Data transmission device and data transmission system |
-
1998
- 1998-05-28 KR KR1019980019435A patent/KR19990086460A/en not_active Ceased
- 1998-12-08 GB GB9827013A patent/GB2337911A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5357276A (en) * | 1992-12-01 | 1994-10-18 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Method of providing video on demand with VCR like functions |
| US5629732A (en) * | 1994-03-29 | 1997-05-13 | The Trustees Of Columbia University In The City Of New York | Viewer controllable on-demand multimedia service |
| EP0797355A2 (en) * | 1996-03-21 | 1997-09-24 | Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. | Digital broadcast receiver |
| GB2317082A (en) * | 1996-09-04 | 1998-03-11 | Ibm | Distribution of digitally encoded presentations |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB9827013D0 (en) | 1999-02-03 |
| KR19990086460A (en) | 1999-12-15 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |