KR100967791B1 - Internet TV integrated program information providing system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

Internet integrated program information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a channel information collecting unit for collecting channel information from various web sites that provide video content, and classifies the collected channel information according to a predetermined classification scheme, An EPG information processing unit for processing the classified channel information to generate EPG information, and an EPG server for providing the generated EPG information to the EPG client.

Internet TV, EPG information, electronic program guide, preference information, EPG database refining

Description

Internet TV integrated program information providing system and method {SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING UNITED PROGRAM INFORMATION OF INTERNET TV}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a system and method for providing Internet TV integrated program information.

With the development of network technology and multimedia technology, it is possible to provide high quality and large capacity multimedia service through the Internet. As one of these services, broadcasting service through the Internet, so-called Internet TV (IPTV) service technology has reached the commercialization stage.

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) refers to a system that provides digital television services to consumers using Internet protocols over a broadband network. In addition, Internet protocol television can additionally provide Internet services such as video on demand (VOD) using the same infrastructure as well as web surfing or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). That is, it is a system that can watch television broadcasts through the technology used on the web, rather than through the existing television broadcast system.

Since Internet Television (IPTV) is an Internet Protocol (IP) based platform, it integrates with high speed network services such as VoIP to provide several advantages. Conventional TVs such as cable and satellite are one-way download services, and because many channels are transmitted at the same time, users have no choice but to view a single content. However, since Internet TV (IPTV) is an interactive service, the content of the content remains in the network so that users can select and view the content at a desired time. In addition, Internet television can provide additional services through web surfing and VoIP while watching broadcast.

By the way, in the case of the existing Internet television, in order to watch the Internet TV or video desired by the user on the Internet, a site such as each Internet TV, a video portal, etc. that searches through the search engine (s) or provides a service. There is a need for accessing and searching for desired video content.

The present invention has been made to improve the prior art as described above, and collects, classifies, and processes EPG information for all video contents such as real-time TV and video on demand (VOD) that can be accessed through the Internet, thereby allowing the user to Through the information, the purpose of the video content provided by various websites can be obtained and viewed at once without having to go to each website.

According to the present invention, in an environment using various desktops, laptops, PMPs, TVs, and the like, which are connected to the Internet, the EPG of the corresponding terminal may include preference information such as a user's preferred channel, a preferred program, and a preferred skin of the EPG client for each terminal. By providing it to a client, it aims at making it possible to conveniently provide a personalized service.

An object of the present invention is to check the validity of the channel / program resources, service quality, etc. on the EPG database, so that the channel / program information, etc. that are invalid on the Internet can be purified to maintain high reliability, quality, etc. of the EPG database. do.

According to the present invention, even if a user sets preference information in any terminal, by matching the preference information with a user ID and storing the same, even if the user uses another terminal authenticated with his mobile number, the user can obtain the same preference information. The purpose.

The object of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object and solve the problems of the prior art, the integrated Internet TV program information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a channel information collecting unit for collecting channel information from a variety of web sites that provide video content; An EPG information processor for classifying the collected channel information according to a preset classification scheme and processing the classified channel information to generate EPG information; And an EPG server for providing the generated EPG information to an EPG client.

Internet TV integrated program information providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of collecting channel information from a variety of web sites that provide video content; Classifying the collected channel information according to a preset classification scheme, and processing the classified channel information to generate EPG information; And providing the generated EPG information to an EPG client.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various different forms, only these embodiments are intended to make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the person having the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the EPG information for all video contents such as real-time TV, video on demand (VOD), etc., which can be accessed through the Internet, is collected, classified, and processed so that a user can access various websites through the EPG information. Video content provided can be obtained and viewed at once without having to go to each website.

According to embodiments of the present invention, in an environment using various desktops, laptops, PMPs, TVs, and the like, which are connected to the Internet, preferences of a user's preferred channel, a preferred program, and a preferred skin of an EPG client for each terminal By providing the information to the EPG client of the terminal, it is possible to conveniently provide a personalized service.

According to embodiments of the present invention, by checking the validity of the channel / program resources, service quality, etc. on the EPG database, the channel / program information, etc. that are invalid on the Internet is purified to maintain high reliability, quality, etc. of the EPG database. Can be.

According to embodiments of the present invention, even if a user sets preference information in any terminal, by matching the preference information with a user ID and storing the same, even if the user uses another terminal authenticated with his mobile number, the same preference information Can be imported.

Internet TV integrated program information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention by collecting, classifying, processing the channel information associated with the video content, such as all the real-time TV, VOD (Video On Demand) that can be connected to the Internet, by providing to the terminal In order to allow the user of the terminal to obtain image content information provided by various web sites at once through processed information, that is, EPG (Electronic Program Guide) information, and to view video content without having to go to each web site. do.

In addition, the Internet TV integrated program information providing system can be personalized such as preference channels / programs, skins of EPGs for each terminal, in an environment using various devices such as desktops, laptops, PMPs, TVs, etc., in which one person can access the Internet. (personalized) service can be provided conveniently.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described embodiments of the present invention;

1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for providing integrated Internet TV program information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the Internet TV integrated program information providing system may include a service providing server 110 and a terminal 130.

The service providing server 110 may include a channel information collecting unit 111, an EGP information processing unit 112, an EPG server 113, an EPG database refiner 114, a collecting database 115, an EPG database 116, And a user database 117.

The channel information collecting unit 111 may collect channel information from various web sites that provide image content. That is, the channel information collecting unit 111 may collect channel information from a web site that provides services such as TV and VOD, which are accessible from the Internet, for example, Pandora TV, Africa (Afreeca), You Tube, and the like. have.

In this case, the channel information collecting unit 111 may automatically collect the channel information by using a bot (BOT), and may collect the channel information through a manual operation of an operator of the service providing server 110. . Here, the bot (BOT) is a shorthand for the robot, and generally refers to a program that operates as a delegate that mimics the actions of a user or another program or a person. In this embodiment, the bot BOT refers to a program that automatically visits an Internet web site and collects information meeting certain criteria, that is, video content information.

The channel information collector 111 may send the collected channel information to the collection database 115, and accordingly, the collection database 115 may store the collected channel information.

An example for the collection database 115 is shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the collection database 115 may store channel information 210, for example, a channel ID, a channel name, a URL, a language, and other information. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the collection database 115 is matched with a channel ID in the channel information 210 and is a program information 220, for example, a channel ID, a program ID, a program name, a URL, a playback method, Program type, broadcast time, program description, and other information may be stored. For reference, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the collection database 115 of FIG. 1.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the EPG information processor 112 may classify the collected channel information according to a preset classification scheme. That is, the EPG information processing unit 112 searches and extracts the collected channel information from the collection database 115, and extracts the extracted channel information by genre, viewable age, providing method, website, recommendation channel, popular channel, etc. Can be classified in consideration of.

In other words, the EPG information processing unit 112 provides the channel information extracted from the collection database 115 to the classification scheme of the EPG database 116 (classification according to genre, classification by viewable age, live / VOD, etc.). Can be classified according to the classification).

The EPG information processing unit 112 may generate the EPG information by processing the classified channel information. That is, the EPG information processing unit 112 may generate the EPG information by converting the classified channel information into a format suitable for the EPG database 116. In this case, the EPG information processing unit 112 may automatically convert the classified channel information using a program, or alternatively, manually convert the channel information.

The EPG information processing unit 112 may input the generated EPG information into the EPG database 116, and thus the EPG database 116 may store the generated EPG information. Here, the EPG information is resource information of video content provided by various web sites on the Internet, and may include channel information, program information, channel programming information, and representative image.

An example for the EPG database 116 is shown in FIG. 3. In the EPG database 116, as shown in FIG. 3, as the EPG channel information 310, for example, channel ID, channel name, channel description, channel logo, representative image, URL, playback module information, number of recommendations, number of users, registration date The number of registered programs, supported resolution, validity check success, QoS check success, automatic deletion allowance, error check keyword, validity, change date, etc. may be stored.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the EPG database 116 includes EPG program information 320 that matches the channel ID in the EPG channel information 310, for example, a channel ID, a program ID, a program name, a representative image, and a URL. , Playback module ID, number of recommendations, number of users, registration date, program type, start time, end time, size, supported resolution, validity check success, QoS check success, automatic deletion allowance, error check keyword, validity, The change date and the like can be stored.

Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the EPG database 116 includes playback module information 330 that matches the channel module ID in the EPG program information 320. For example, the playback module ID, playback module classification, download URL, version, etc. Information, registration date, and the like can be stored. For reference, FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the EPG database 116 of FIG. 1.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the EPG server 113 may provide the generated EPG information to the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. That is, when the EPG server 113 receives the EPG information from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130, the EPG server 113 extracts the requested EPG information from the EPG database 116, and the EPG client ( 131). In other words, the EPG server 113 may read EPG information from the EPG database 116 and transmit necessary EPG information to the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. In this case, the EPG server 113 may transmit the EPG information to the web browser of the terminal 130 in place of the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130.

The EPG server 113 may receive / store preference information of the user from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 using the system ID of the terminal 130 and the user ID of the terminal 130. Here, the preference information may include a preference channel, a preference program, a preference skin, and the like. To this end, after the EPG server 113 undergoes the following (1) member registration and (2) terminal authentication procedure, (3) the preference information can be received / stored from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. have.

(One). Membership Process

The EPG server 113 may receive a subscription request from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. To this end, the EPG server 113 may receive the user registration request by receiving a user ID and password from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. The EPG server 113 may store the received user ID and password in the user database 117 to process the member subscription request. Through this process, the EPG server 113 may complete the membership registration process.

(2) terminal authentication procedure

When the membership registration procedure is completed, the EPG server 113 may receive a terminal authentication request through the phone number of the terminal 130. The EPG server 113 may transmit the authentication number to the terminal 130 identified by the phone number according to the terminal authentication request. The EPG server 113 may receive a system ID of the terminal 130 together with the authentication number from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130.

Here, the system ID may include a MAC address, a CPU ID, and other data that may be system-specific information of each terminal 130. For example, the most suitable data may be selected in consideration of each system at the time of developing the EPG client 131 for each terminal 130.

As the EPG server 113 receives the authentication number and the system ID, the EPG server 113 adds a user ID / system ID (Mac address, CPU ID, etc.) record to the terminal information table of the user database 117, and joins the membership. The user ID received at the time and the system ID received at the terminal authentication may be stored in the added record. Through this process, the EPG server 113 may complete the terminal authentication procedure.

(3) Procedure for Receiving / Saving Preferred Information

The EPG server 113 may receive the user's preference information from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 when both the membership registration and terminal authentication procedures are completed. The EPG server 113 may match the received preference information with the user ID and system ID and store the matching preference information in the user database 117.

In other words, the EPG server 113 may classify and store personal preference information of each user in the user database 117 through membership registration and terminal authentication. As a result, the EPG server 113 may provide an environment in which the personal preference information of each user may be inquired from the user database 117 and provided to the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130.

An example of a user database 117 is shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the user database 117 may store, for example, a user ID, a password, a mobile phone number, a point, and the like as the user personal information 410. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the user database 117 includes the preferred channel / program information 420 that matches the user ID in the user personal information 410, for example, a user ID, a channel ID, a program ID, and a shortcut number. And the like can be stored.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the user database 117 includes terminal information 430 that matches the user ID in the user personal information 410, for example, a user ID, an EPG client ID, a skin ID, a system ID, an ID. Type and the like can be stored. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the user database 117 may classify and store information in the terminal information 430 in the table 450.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the user database 117 may store, for example, a skin ID and a resource URL as the player skin information 440 matching the skin ID in the terminal information 430. For reference, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user database 117 of FIG. 1.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the EPG server 113 receives a system ID of the terminal 130 from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 and obtains a user ID matching the system ID from the user database 117. You can inquire. When a user ID matching the system ID is inquired, the EPG server 113 extracts preference information corresponding to the inquired user ID from the user database 117 and transmits it to the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. Can provide.

To this end, the EPG server 113 may receive the ID of the EPG client 131 and the system ID of the terminal 130 from the EPG client 131 of the authenticated terminal 130. The EPG server 113 may query the user ID from the user database 117 using the received system ID. The EPG server 113 may extract preference information matching the inquired user ID from the user database 117 and transmit the extracted preference information to the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130.

When the EPG server 113 receives a modification request for the preference information from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130, the EPG server 113 may modify the corresponding preference information in the user database 117.

That is, the EPG server 113 may receive information regarding a user ID and a request for modification from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. The EPG server 113 may modify the preference information matching the received user ID in the user database 117 by using the information about the modification request item.

For example, when the information about the modification request information is about the deletion of the preferred channel A, the EPG server 113 inquires the user database 117 for preference information matching the corresponding user ID, and then the inquiry. The preferred channel A may be deleted from the preferred information. In addition, when the information about the modification request information is about the addition of the preferred channel B, the EPG server 113 may match the preferred channel B with the corresponding user ID and store it in the user database 117.

The EPG server 113 may check the version of the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 and upgrade the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 to the latest version when the version is an old version. To this end, the EPG server 113 may check the version of the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 by receiving the version information of the EPG client 131 from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. At this time, the EPG server 113 automatically receives the version information of the EPG client 131 periodically according to the version upgrade setting value in the EPG client 131, or otherwise receives the version information of the EPG client 131. Can be manually received by hand.

When the video content is not played by the video playback module in the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130, the EPG server 113 may be a dedicated client module for the video content, for example, a Windows operating system. In the case of (Window OS), an Active X module is provided to the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130, so that the image content is transmitted by the dedicated image reproduction module in the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. Can be played back. For reference, the dedicated client module refers to a client developed by a specific company.

The EPG database refiner 114 may check the validity of the EPG information, the quality of service (QoS), etc. stored in the EPG database 116, and may refine the invalid or poor service quality EPG information. This is to provide quality resources to viewers (users) because video resources on the Internet are often short-lived or quality is not guaranteed.

The EPG database refiner 114 may include a URI validity checker 510 and a QoS performance checker 520 as shown in FIG. 5. For reference, FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the EPG database refiner 114 of FIG. 1.

The URI validity checker 510 may check the validity of the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) with respect to channel resources, program resources, and the like in the EPG information stored in the EPG database 116 and check the validity of the EPG information.

That is, the URI validity checker 510 may determine the EPG information as valid information and maintain it in the EPG database 116 when it is determined that the URI for the channel resource, the program resource, etc. is valid. On the other hand, when the URL validity checker 510 determines that the URI for the channel resource, the program resource, etc. is not valid, the URL validity checker 510 may determine the EPG information as invalid information and delete the EPG information from the EPG database 116. have.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the URI validity checker 510 may check the validity of the EPG information by using a code such as an example 610 that attempts a channel / program resource request. If delivery fails, a code such as an example 620 of resource delivery failure result may be output. Accordingly, the user may check the error of the EPG information through the error check keyword 630 in the example of resource delivery failure result 620.

On the other hand, if the resource validity check unit 510 succeeds in resource delivery, as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the user may confirm the validity of the EPG information through the example of successful resource delivery. For reference, FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate examples of validity checking procedures of EPG information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As such, the URI validity checker 510 may refine the EPG information in the EPG database 116 by checking the validity of the EPG information, thereby maintaining high reliability of the EPG database 116.

The QoS performance checker 520 may include a first resolution, a first compression ratio, and the like of a video content corresponding to a channel resource, a program resource, and the like in the EPG information stored in the EPG database 116, a second resolution of an actual transport packet of the video content, The quality of service of the EPG information may be checked in comparison with the second compression ratio.

That is, the QoS performance checker 520 determines that the first resolution, the first compression ratio, and the like of the image content corresponding to the channel resource, the program resource, and the like coincide with the second resolution, the second compression ratio, etc. of the actual transport packet of the image content. The EPG information may be determined as information having good quality of service and maintained in the EPG database 116.

On the other hand, the QoS performance checker 520 does not match the first resolution, the first compression rate, etc. of the image content corresponding to the channel resource, the program resource, etc. with the second resolution, the second compression rate, etc. of the actual transport packet of the image content. If not, the EPG information may be determined as poor quality of service information and deleted from the EPG database 116.

As such, the QoS performance checker 520 may refine the EPG information in the EPG database 116 by checking the service quality of the EPG information, thereby maintaining a high quality of the EPG database 116.

Referring back to FIG. 1, when the EPG database refining unit 114 fails to check the validity of the EPG information, the quality of service, and the like, the EPG database refining unit 114 may automatically or manually delete the failed EPG information according to its importance. In the case of manually deleting, when the user periodically queries the failed EPG information by hand, the EPG database refining unit 114 verifies the validity, service quality, etc. of the collectively viewed EPG information, and then is invalid. The EPG information may be deleted from the EPG database 116, or the service quality may be poor.

The terminal 130 may include an EPG client 131, an image playback unit 132, and an image storage unit 133.

The EPG client 131 may request EPG information from the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 to receive necessary EPG information. The EPG client 131 may store the provided EPG information in a local storage medium and display it on the screen of the terminal 130. When any channel or program is selected by the user of the terminal 130 among the EPG information, the EPG client 131 may receive image content corresponding to the selected channel or program from the web site 120. .

The EPG client 131 may play the received video content in association with the video playback unit 132 and then display the received video content on the screen of the terminal 130 through an image playback module mounted therein. Thus, the user can watch the video content provided by various web sites through the screen of the terminal 130.

For example, the EPG client 131 may display the EPG information on the screen of the terminal 130 as shown in FIG. 8. Here, when a user selects one channel of the EPG information and then selects an arbitrary program (click to watch / view the past broadcast), the EPG client 131 receives the image content from the corresponding web site 120, and then the user selects a program in FIG. It may be displayed as shown.

At this time, the EPG client 131 displays the preferred channel selected by the user when the user clicks the favorite channel selection button 910 of FIG. 9, and when the user clicks the skin change button 920 of FIG. 9. You can replace the current skin with your preferred skin. For reference, FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of EGP information displayed on a screen of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of playing video content according to an embodiment of the present invention. .

Referring back to FIG. 1, the received image content may not be displayed on the screen of the terminal 130 through the image reproducing module. In this case, the EPG client 131 uses a dedicated client module (Proprietary Client Module) for the video content, for example, an Active X module in the case of a Windows OS, the service providing server 110 It can be provided by requesting the EPG server 113 or the web site 120. The EPG client 131 may display the received image content on the screen of the terminal 130 through the provided dedicated image reproduction module.

The EPG client 131 may register and transmit the user's preference information to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110. To this end, the EPG client 131 transmits the preference information of the user to the EPG server 113 after the membership registration and terminal authentication procedure, so that the preference information of the user is EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 ) Can be registered (stored) in the user database 117.

That is, the EPG client 131 may apply for membership by transmitting a user ID and password to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110. When the membership application is completed by the EPG server 113, the EPG client 131 transmits the telephone number of the terminal 130 to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 and authenticates in response thereto. The number can be received. The EPG client 131 may transmit the system ID of the terminal 130 together with the authentication number to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 to perform authentication on the terminal 130.

When the authentication for the terminal 130 is successfully completed, the EPG client 131 may transmit the preference information of the user to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110. Accordingly, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 matches the received preference information with the user ID and system ID so as to match the user's personal area (table) in the user database 117. Can be stored in

For reference, the EPG client 131 may store the user's preference information, that is, information such as a preference channel, a preference program, a preference skin, and the like in a local storage medium.

Meanwhile, the EPG client 131 may request and receive the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 from the user's preference information registered (stored) in the user database 117 of the service providing server 110. Can be. To this end, the EPG client 131 after the membership registration and terminal authentication procedure, by transmitting the system ID of the terminal 130 to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110, the user corresponding to the system ID Personal preference information may be provided from the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110.

Accordingly, when the user selects any preferred channel / program among the preference information, the EPG client 131 receives the image content corresponding to the selected preferred channel / program from the corresponding web site 12 and receives the received content. The displayed image content may be displayed on the screen of the terminal 130 in cooperation with the image reproducing unit 132. Thus, the user can watch the video content corresponding to the channel / program that he prefers through the screen of the terminal 130.

The EPG client 131 may request the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 to modify the user's preference information. To this end, the EPG client 131 may transmit the information on the user ID and the modification request to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110, accordingly, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 ) May modify (add / delete) corresponding preference information in the user database 117 by using the information on the user ID and the modification request item.

The EPG client 131 may upgrade its version by transmitting its version information to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110. At this time, the EPG client 131 periodically transmits the version information automatically according to the version upgrade setting value (value set by the user or default value), or otherwise, the version information is manually You can upgrade the version by sending it manually.

The EPG client 131 may provide a user interface. Accordingly, the EPG client 131 allows the user to request EPG information through the user interface, register / modify / request a preferred channel, upgrade the version, or link the video content with the video player 132. You can watch it.

The EPG client 131 may support various operating systems (OSs), platforms, and devices that provide Internet TV viewing capabilities. For example, the EPG client 131 may be mounted on a PC, a TV, a notebook, a PMP, a 3G phone, a web browser, or the like. In addition, the EPG client 131 may perform functions such as viewing grades according to age and free / paid channel management. In addition, the EPG client 131 may provide a customization function of a skin, that is, a layout, so that a user interface unique to each user can be used.

The video player 132 may stream or download and play video content of the program so that the user can immediately watch the program using the EGP information (resource information on the Internet) in the EPG client 131. That is, when the user selects arbitrary channel / program information in the EPG client 131, the image playback unit 132 receives and plays the video content corresponding to the selected channel / program information from the web site 120. After that, it can be delivered to the EPG client 131. Accordingly, the EPG client 131 may display the reproduced video content on the screen of the terminal 130, thereby allowing the user to watch the video content through the screen of the terminal 130.

The image storage unit 133 may store the received image content. For example, the image storage unit 133 may record the image content received by the live streaming on a local storage medium, or may store the downloaded image content on the local storage medium.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing integrated Internet TV program information according to an embodiment of the present invention. The Internet TV integrated program information providing method may be implemented by the service providing server 110 of FIG.

1 and 10, in step S1010, the channel information collecting unit 111 of the service providing server 110 may collect channel information from various web sites that provide image content. That is, the channel information collection unit 111 of the service providing server 110 may be a web site that provides services such as TV and VOD, which are accessible from the Internet, for example, Pandora TV, Africa (Afreeca), YouTube, etc. Can collect channel information from.

In this case, the channel information collecting unit 111 of the service providing server 110 may automatically collect the channel information by using a bot (BOT). Alternatively, the channel information collecting unit 111 may perform the manual operation of the operator of the service providing server 110. Channel information can be collected. Here, as described above, the bot refers to a program that automatically visits an Internet web site and collects information meeting certain criteria, that is, image content information.

The channel information collecting unit 111 of the service providing server 110 may send the collected channel information to the collection database 115, and accordingly, the collection database 115 may store the collected channel information.

In operation S1020, the EPG information processing unit 112 of the service providing server 110 may classify the collected channel information according to a preset classification scheme. That is, the EPG information processing unit 112 of the service providing server 110 inquires and extracts the collected channel information from the collection database 115, and extracts the extracted channel information by genre, viewable age, providing method, web site. , Recommended channels, popular channels, and the like.

In other words, the EPG information processing unit 112 of the service providing server 110 transmits the channel information extracted from the collection database 115 to the classification scheme of the EPG database 116 (classification according to genre, classification by viewable age, and live. /) Can be classified according to the classification, such as by the method of providing the VOD.

In operation S1030, the EPG information processing unit 112 of the service providing server 110 may generate EPG information by processing the classified channel information. That is, the EPG information processing unit 112 of the service providing server 110 may generate the EPG information by converting the classified channel information into a format suitable for the EPG database 116. In this case, the EPG information processing unit 112 of the service providing server 110 may automatically convert the classified channel information by using a program, or alternatively, manually by the operator's manual operation.

The EPG information processing unit 112 of the service providing server 110 may input the generated EPG information into the EPG database 116. Accordingly, the EPG database 116 may store the generated EPG information. Here, the EPG information is resource information of video content provided by various web sites on the Internet, and may include channel information, program information, channel programming information, and representative image.

Here, the EPG database 116 storing the EPG information is refined by the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110, thereby maintaining high reliability and good quality.

That is, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 checks the validity of the EPG information, the quality of service (QoS), etc. stored in the EPG database 116, and refines the invalid or poor service quality EPG information. can do. This is to provide quality resources to viewers (users) because video resources on the Internet are often short-lived or quality is not guaranteed.

Hereinafter, a process of refining the EPG database 116 by the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

11 illustrates an example of purifying the EPG database 116 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, in operation S1110, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may inquire channel / program information from the EPG database 116.

In operation S1120, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may connect to a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) corresponding to the inquired channel / program information.

In operation S1130, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may check whether the corresponding URL is in error. At this time, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 checks whether an error of the corresponding URL occurs, for example, by checking an error message on the HTTP protocol or by checking a keyword in the transmitted message. You can check.

In operation S1140, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may store whether the validity check is successful in the EPG database 116. That is, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may store in the EPG database 116 whether the validity check of the URL is successful as a result of the error check of the URL.

In this way, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 checks the validity of a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) with respect to channel resources, program resources, and the like in the EPG information stored in the EPG database 116, and thus the EPG information. You can check the validity of.

That is, when the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 confirms that the URI for the channel resource, the program resource, etc. is valid, the EPG database refiner 114 determines the EPG information as valid information and transmits the EPG information to the EPG database 116. I can keep it. On the other hand, when the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 confirms that the URI for the channel resource, the program resource, etc. is invalid, the EPG information is determined as invalid information and determined as the EPG. May be deleted from the database 116.

As such, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may check the validity of the EPG information to purify the EPG information in the EPG database 116, thereby improving the reliability of the EPG database 116. I can keep it high.

12 illustrates another example of purifying the EPG database 116 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 12, in operation S1210, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may inquire channel / program information from the EPG database 116.

In operation S1220, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may start to aggregate network traffic with the server corresponding to the inquired channel / program information.

In operation S1230, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may start playing the image transmitted from the server for a predetermined time.

In step S1240, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may complete the aggregation of the network traffic from the server.

In operation S1250, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may store whether the QoS check passes in the EPG database 116. That is, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 compares the resolution, the compression rate, and the like of the image, and calculates the QoS level by comparing the transmitted packets with the EPG database 116. ) Can be stored.

As described above, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may include a first resolution, a first compression ratio, and the like of the image content corresponding to the channel resource, the program resource, and the like in the EPG information stored in the EPG database 116. The quality of service of the EPG information may be checked in comparison with the second resolution, the second compression ratio, etc. of the actual transport packet of the content.

That is, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may have a first resolution, a first compression ratio, or the like of the video content corresponding to the channel resource, the program resource, or the like. If the second compression ratio is equal to the second compression ratio or the like, the EPG information may be determined as information having good quality of service and maintained in the EPG database 116.

On the other hand, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 has a first resolution, a first compression ratio, and the like of the video content corresponding to the channel resource, the program resource, and the like. If the second compression rate does not match, the EPG information may be determined as bad information and deleted from the EPG database 116.

In this way, the EPG database refiner 114 of the service providing server 110 may check the service quality of the EPG information to purify the EPG information in the EPG database 116, and thereby the quality of the EPG database 116. Can be kept high.

Referring back to FIG. 10, in operation S1040, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 may provide the generated EPG information to the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. That is, when the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 receives the EPG information from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130, the EPG information extracted from the EPG database 116 is extracted from the EPG database 116. To EPG client 131 at 130.

In other words, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 may read EPG information from the EPG database 116 and transmit necessary EPG information to the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. In this case, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 may transmit the EPG information to the web browser of the terminal 130 on behalf of the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. Accordingly, the EPG information may be displayed on the EPG client 131 or may be displayed on the web browser.

Meanwhile, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 uses the system ID of the terminal 130 and the user ID of the terminal 130 to obtain preference information of the user from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. Receive / store / modify, or provide preference information of the user to the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. Here, the preference information may include a preference channel, a preference program, a preference skin, and the like. To this end, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 may perform a member registration and terminal authentication procedure.

13 is a diagram illustrating an example of performing member registration and terminal authentication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 13, in step S1310, the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 may execute an EPG and then apply for initial membership in step S1320. To this end, the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 may transmit the user ID and password to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110.

In operation S1330, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 may store the transmitted user ID and password in the user database 117.

In operation S1340, the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 may apply for authentication to the terminal 130 by pressing an authentication button after inputting a phone number of an exemplary embodiment of the terminal 130.

In step S1350, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 receives the telephone number of the mobile phone, and then authenticates to the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 identified by the received telephone number. You can send the number.

In step S1360, the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 receives the authentication number, and the received authentication number along with the system information (MAC address, CPU ID, etc.) of the service providing server 110 May transmit to the EPG server 113.

In step S1370, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 adds a record such as user ID / MAC address / CPU ID to the terminal information table of the user database 117, and then adds a record to the added record. The user ID / MAC address / CPU ID can be stored.

14 illustrates an example of using preference information in an authenticated terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 14, after the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 executes the EPG in step S1410, the ID of the EPG client 131 and the system unique information of the terminal 130 in step S1420. System ID) may be transmitted to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110.

In operation S1430, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 may inquire the user ID from the user database 117 through the transmitted system ID.

In operation S1440, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 transmits preference information such as preference / program / skin information corresponding to the inquired user ID to the EPG client 131 of the corresponding terminal 130. Can transmit

In operation S1450, the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 may receive preference information such as corresponding preference / program / skin information, store it in a memory or a storage medium, and display the same on the screen of the terminal 130. .

In operation S1460, the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 may request a preference setting (deletion / addition) of a specific channel. That is, the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 may make a request for deletion / addition of preference information such as a preference channel / program / skin of a specific channel to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110. To this end, the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130 may transmit the stored user ID to the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110.

In operation S1470, the EPG server 113 of the service providing server 110 may store user preference information (preferred channel / program / skin information, etc.) received from the EPG client 131 of the terminal 130. 117).

In an embodiment of the present invention, even if a user sets preference information at any terminal, the EPG server matches the preference information with a user ID and stores the same in the user database 117, whereby the user is authenticated with his / her mobile phone number. Even if the terminal is used, the same preference information can be obtained.

Embodiments of the present invention include computer readable media including program instructions for performing various computer implemented operations. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, local data files, local data structures, or the like, alone or in combination. The media may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, magnetic-optical media such as floppy disks, and ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute the same program instructions are included. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the claims below, but also by the equivalents of the claims.

As described above, the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which can be variously modified and modified by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Modifications are possible. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should be understood only by the claims set forth below, and all equivalent or equivalent modifications thereof will belong to the scope of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for providing integrated Internet TV program information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the collection database of FIG. 1.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the EPG database of FIG. 1.

4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user database of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the EPG database refiner of FIG. 1.

6 and 7 illustrate an example of a process for checking validity of EPG information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram illustrating an example of EGP information displayed on a screen of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a diagram illustrating an example of playing back video content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing integrated Internet TV program information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a diagram illustrating an example of purifying an EPG database according to an embodiment of the present invention.

12 illustrates another example of purifying an EPG database according to an embodiment of the present invention.

13 is a diagram illustrating an example of performing member registration and terminal authentication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

14 illustrates an example of using preference information in an authenticated terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

110: service providing server

111: channel information collecting unit

112: EPG information processing unit

113: EPG Server

114: EPG database purification unit

115: collection database

116: EPG database

117: user database

120: website

130: terminal

131: EPG Client

132: video playback unit

133: image storage unit

Claims (25)

A channel information collecting unit collecting channel information from various web sites that provide image contents; An EPG information processor for classifying the collected channel information according to a preset classification scheme and processing the classified channel information to generate EPG information; And If the generated EPG information is provided to an EPG client, and the image content is not reproduced by the image reproducing module in the EPG client, the EPG client is provided with a dedicated image reproducing module for the image content. EPG server to allow the video content to be played by the dedicated video playback module in Internet TV integrated program information providing system comprising a. The method of claim 1, An EPG database for storing the generated EPG information; And EPG database refining unit that checks at least one of the validity or quality of service (QoS) of the EPG information stored in the EPG database, thereby refining invalid or poor service quality EPG information. Internet TV integrated program information providing system further comprises a. The method of claim 2, The EPG database purification unit, The Internet TV integrated program information providing system of claim 1, wherein the validity of the EPG information is checked by performing URI validation on at least one of a channel resource or a program resource in the EPG information. The method of claim 2, The EPG database purification unit, The first resolution of the video content and the first compression rate of the video content corresponding to at least one of a channel resource or a program resource in the EPG information, the second resolution of the actual transport packet of the video content and the second compression rate of the transport packet. Internet TV integrated program information providing system, characterized in that for checking the service quality of the EPG information. The method of claim 1, The EPG information processing unit, In conjunction with the EPG database for storing the generated EPG information, Internet TV integrated program information providing system according to the classification system of the linked EPG database, characterized in that the classified channel information. The method of claim 1, The EPG information processing unit, In conjunction with the EPG database for storing the generated EPG information, And processing the classified channel information into a format corresponding to the linked EPG database to generate the EPG information. The method of claim 1, The EPG server, Receive the user's preference information from the EPG client using the system ID and the user ID of the terminal on which the EPG client is mounted, Internet TV integrated program information providing system, characterized in that for storing the received preference information in a user database. The method of claim 1, User database for classifying and storing preference information of the user, the user ID of the user, and the system ID of the terminal on which the EPG client is mounted. More, The EPG server, Receiving the system ID from the EPG client, inquiring a user ID matching the system ID from the user database, Internet TV integrated program information providing system, characterized in that to extract the preference information corresponding to the inquired user ID from the user database, and to provide to the EPG client. The method of claim 1, A collection database for storing the collected channel information More, The EPG information processing unit, And the EPG information is generated by querying the collected channel information from the collection database. The method of claim 1, EPG database for storing the generated EPG information More, The EPG server, Internet TV integrated program information providing system according to the request from the EPG client, extracting the requested EPG information from the EPG database to provide to the EPG client. The method of claim 1, The EPG server, Checking the version of the EPG client, if the version is the old version Internet TV integrated program information providing system, characterized in that for upgrading the EPG client to the latest version. delete Collecting channel information from various web sites that provide video contents; Classifying the collected channel information according to a preset classification scheme, and processing the classified channel information to generate EPG information; Providing the generated EPG information to an EPG client; And If the video content is not played by the video playback module in the EPG client, provide the EPG client with a dedicated video playback module for the video content, so that the video content in the EPG client is sent by the dedicated video playback module. Steps to play Internet TV integrated program information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 13, Storing the generated EPG information in an EPG database; And Checking at least one of validity or quality of service (QoS) of EPG information stored in the EPG database, and refining invalid or poor quality of service EPG information Internet TV integrated program information providing method further comprises a. The method of claim 14, Purifying the EPG information, Checking the validity of the EPG information by performing URI validation on at least one of a channel resource or a program resource in the EPG information Internet TV integrated program information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 14, Purifying the EPG information, The first resolution of the video content and the first compression rate of the video content corresponding to at least one of a channel resource or a program resource in the EPG information, the second resolution of the actual transport packet of the video content and the second compression rate of the transport packet. Checking the quality of service of the EPG information in comparison with Internet TV integrated program information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 13, Generating the EPG information, Classifying the collected channel information according to a classification scheme of an EPG database in which the generated EPG information is stored. Internet TV integrated program information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 13, Generating the EPG information, Generating the EPG information by processing the classified channel information in a format corresponding to an EPG database in which the generated EPG information is stored. Internet TV integrated program information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 13, Providing the EPG information to the EPG client, Receiving preference information of a user from the EPG client using a system ID and a user ID of a terminal on which the EPG client is mounted; And Storing the received preference information in a user database Internet TV integrated program information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 13, Classifying the user's preference information, the user ID of the user, and the system ID of the terminal on which the EPG client is mounted, and storing the user ID in each user database. More, Providing the EPG information to the EPG client, Receiving the system ID from the EPG client, and retrieving a user ID matching the system ID from the user database; And Extracting preference information corresponding to the inquired user ID from the user database and providing the EPG client to the EPG client; Internet TV integrated program information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 13, Storing the collected channel information in a collection database More, Generating the EPG information, Querying the collected channel information from the collection database to generate the EPG information Internet TV integrated program information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 13, Storing the generated EPG information in an EPG database More, Generating the EPG information, In accordance with a request from the EPG client, extracting the requested EPG information from the EPG database and providing the requested EPG information to the EPG client; Internet TV integrated program information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 13, Generating the EPG information, Checking the version of the EPG client and upgrading the EPG client to the latest version if the version is an old version Internet TV integrated program information providing method comprising a. delete A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for performing the method of claim 13.

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