Content providing server, information processing device and method, and computer program

• US 20060212531A1
• Filed: 04/05/2004
• Published: 09/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Mitsubori, Hiroyuki, Igarashi, Tatsuya, Kikkawa, Norifumi
• Granted Patent: US 8,135,844 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02

Abstract

A device and method is provided to enable improved control of streaming live delivery and recording processing as to a client from a server of tuner-received content. This is configured such that a tuner control instance which executes streaming delivery of the tuner-received content under the control of the tuner, and a storage unit control instance which executes recording of the tuner-received content under the control of the content storage unit such as a hard disk, are independently set, and to each a channel list URL and video capsule URL are set as the content URL capable of specifying the processing control object, and requests can be received from the client individually by setting a control instance ID which is a control instance (AVT instance) identifier. By this configuration, independent processing according to the client request is enabled.

Claims

1. A content-providing server for executing content transmission to a client and content recording processing, said server comprising:

a tuner for executing data reception processing;

a data transmission/reception unit for executing communication processing between server and client of received content from said tuner and of control information;

a metadata storage unit wherein attribute information corresponding to received content is stored as content information,

a content storage unit for storing content;

a content management unit for executing providing processing as to a client of said content information; and

a content delivery control unit for executing processing as to received content via said tuner;

said content delivery control unit comprising

a tuner control instance for executing delivery processing control as to the client of the received content of said tuner, and wherein a recording source content identifier is set corresponding to the tuner-received content, and

a storage unit control instance for executing storage processing control as to said content storage unit of the received content by said tuner, and wherein a recording target content identifier is set;

wherein each of said tuner control instance and said storage unit control instance independently executes control corresponding to the set content identifiers.

2. The content-providing server according to claim 1, wherein a recording source content identifier is set in said storage unit control instance;

and wherein said storage unit control instance is configured so as to execute specific processing of the recording content based on said recording source content identifier.

3. The content-providing server according to claim 1, wherein said content management unit is configured so as to execute content information management based on a content management directory;

and is configured so as to set said recording source content identifier as the metadata of the tuner container as an management object of said content management directory, and to set said recording target content identifier as the metadata of a content storage object as an management object of said content management directory, and also to execute the providing processing of said metadata according to a request from said client; and

and wherein each of said tuner control instance and said storage unit control instance execute setting processing of said recording source content identifier or recording target content identifier, according to a request from said client.

4. The content-providing server according to claim 1, wherein said recording source content identifier is a channel list identifier as identifying information of a channel list including at least multiple channels within the receiving channels of said tuner;

and wherein said tuner control instance is configured so as to set multiple content to be received by the tuner, corresponding to multiple channels described in said channel list, as one unit of the control content, and executes control of the delivery content corresponding to the multiple channels described in said channel list, based on a control request corresponding to the channel list identifier to be received from a client.

5. The content-providing server according to claim 1, wherein said recording source content identifier is a channel list URL (Uniform Resource Locator) which is set as identifying information of a channel list including at least multiple channels within the receiving channels of said tuner;

and wherein said recording source content identifier is a content storage object URL which is set as an identifier of a content storage object corresponding to a content storage region which is set in said content storage unit.

6. The content-providing server according to claim 1, wherein said content management unit is configured so as to execute content information management based on the content management directory,

and is configured so as to be capable of retaining at least one of the setting information of content recording ending time information and recording quality, as the metadata of the content storage object as the management object of said content management directory;

and

the storage unit control instance wherein said recording target content identifier is set is configured so as to execute the content recording processing according to said setting information.

7. The content-providing server according to claim 1, wherein said content management unit is configured so as to execute processing for setting a content storage object URL as the metadata as to the generating object, under the condition that information showing that a generating request for the content storage object for storing live content is included in the generating request of the content storage object from said client.

8. The content-providing server according to claim 1, wherein said content-providing server is configured so as to execute setting processing for said storage unit control instance, under the condition that information showing that a generating request for the content storage object for storing live content is included in the generating request of the content storage object from said client.

9. The content-providing server according to claim 8, wherein the setting processing of said recording unit control instance includes setting process of the content storage object URL as a recording target content identifier.

10. The content-providing server according to claim 1, wherein protocol information corresponding to the content is included in said content information;

and wherein a function ID is set in the protocol information, which is set corresponding to said recording source content, as tuner identifying information;

and wherein a function ID is set in the protocol information, which is set corresponding to said recording target content, as content storage unit identifying information;

and wherein said content delivery control unit is configured so as to execute setting processing as a control instance that executes control for control objects wherein each of said tuner control instance and said storage unit control instance is determined based on said function ID.

11. The content-providing server according to claim 1, wherein said content delivery control unit is configured so as to set a control instance which executes processing control for content specified by the content identifier, and to execute the control for each content based on the control instance;

and is of a configuration to execute connection management based on a connection management table corresponding to an instance ID which is an identifier for each of said tuner control instance and said storage unit control instance, a connection ID which is a connection identifier between the server and client, and protocol information corresponding to the delivery content.

12. The content-providing server according to claim 1, wherein said content delivery control unit is configured so as to receive a control request for delivery content according to a SOAP (Simple Object Access Control) protocol from a client, and execute content control based on the control request.

13. An information processing device as a client which requests data processing of tuner-received content as to a server, wherein said information processing device sends, to said server, first protocol information including a tuner identifying function ID as the tuner identifying information and second protocol information including a data storage unit identifying function ID as the data storage unit identifying information, within the protocol information to be included in the content information received from said server;

and is configured so as to execute sending processing of a control request as to each control instance wherein the tuner control instance ID and the storage unit control instance ID to be received from said server is acquired, and said control instance ID is specified.

14. The information processing device according to claim 13;

wherein said information processing device is configured so as to perform setting requests of the recording source content identifier as to said tuner control instance, and of the recording target content identifier as to said storage unit control instance, and also executes processing for notifying said recording source content identifier as to said storage unit control instance.

15. The information processing device according to claim 14, wherein said recording source content identifier is a channel list URL (Uniform Resource Locators) which is set as identifying information of a channel list including at least multiple channels within the receiving channels of said tuner;

and wherein said recording target content identifier is a content storage object URL which is set as an identifier of a content storage object corresponding to a content storage region which is set in said content storage unit.

16. An information processing method for executing processing of content received from a tuner, said method comprising:

a step for setting a recording source content identifier as to a tuner control instance which executes delivery processing control as to a client of the content received from said tuner;

a step for setting a recording target content identifier as to a storage unit control instance which executes recording processing control as to said content storage unit of the content received from said tuner;

a control request receiving step for receiving a control request which has identifying information of the tuner control instance from the client or the storage unit control instance; and

a control step for executing tuner control or storage unit control from the tuner control instance or the storage unit control instance, based on said identifying information.

17. The information processing method according to claim 16, further comprising:

a step for setting a recording source content identifier as to said recording unit control instance;

wherein said recording unit control instance executes specific processing of the recording content based on said recording source content identifier.

18. The information processing method according to claim 16, further comprising:

a step for setting said recording source content identifier as the metadata of the tuner container as the management object of the content management directory;

a step for setting said recording target content identifier as the metadata of the content storage object as the management object of said content management directory;

a step for executing the providing processing of said metadata according the request from said client; and

,

with each of said tuner control instance and said recording unit control instance,

executing of setting processing of said recording source content identifier or recording target content identifier, according to the request from said client.

19. The information processing method according to claim 16, wherein said recording source content identifier is a channel list identifier as identifying information of a channel list including at least multiple channels within the receiving channels of said tuner;

and wherein said tuner control instance sets multiple content to be received by the tuner, corresponding to multiple channels described in said channel list, as one unit of the control content, and executes control of the delivery content corresponding to the multiple channels described in said channel list, based on a control request corresponding to the channel list identifier to be received from a client.

20. The information processing method according to claim 16, wherein said recording source content identifier is a channel list URL (Uniform Resource Locator) which is set as identifying information of a channel list including at least multiple channels within the receiving channels of said tuner;

and wherein said recording target content identifier is a content storage object URL which is set as an identifier of a content storage object corresponding to a content storage region which is set in said content storage unit.

21. The information processing method according to claim 16, further comprising:

a step for setting at least one of the setting information of content recording ending time information and recording quality, as the metadata of the content storage object as the management object of said content management directory; and

a step for executing the content recording processing according to said setting information with the storage unit control instance wherein said recording target content identifier is set.

22. The information processing method according to claim 16, further comprising:

a step for executing processing for setting a content storage object URL as the metadata as to the generating object, under the condition that information showing that a generating request for the content storage object for storing live content is included in the generating request of the content storage object from said client.

23. The information processing method according to claim 16, further comprising:

a step for executing setting processing for said storage unit control instance, under the condition that information showing that a generating request for the content storage object for storing live content is included in the generating request of the content storage object from said client.

24. The information processing method according to claim 23, wherein the setting processing of said storage unit control instance includes setting process of the content storage object URL as a recording target content identifier.

25. The information processing method according to claim 16, wherein protocol information corresponding to the content is included in said content information;

and wherein a function ID is set in the protocol information, which is set corresponding to said recording source content, as tuner identifying information;

and wherein a function ID is set in the protocol information, which is set corresponding to said recording target content, as content storage unit identifying information;

and wherein said information process method further executes setting processing as a control instance that executes control for control objects wherein each of said tuner control instance and said storage unit control instance is determined based on said function ID.

26. The information processing method according to claim 16, further comprising:

a step for setting a control instance which executes processing control for content specified by the content identifier, and for executing the control for each content based on the control instance;

wherein connection management is executed based on a connection management table corresponding to an instance ID which is an identifier for each of said tuner control instance and said storage unit control instance, a connection ID which is a connection identifier between the server and client, and protocol information corresponding to the delivery content.

27. The information processing method according to claim 16, wherein said control request receiving step receives a control request for delivery content according to a SOAP (Simple Object Access Control) protocol from a client;

and wherein said control step is configured so as to execute content control based on the control request received from the client.

28. An information processing method with a client which requests data processing of tuner-received content as to a server, said method comprising:

a protocol information sending step for transmitting to said server, first protocol information including a tuner identifying function ID as the tuner identifying information and second protocol information including a data storage unit identifying function ID as the data storage unit identifying information, within the protocol information included in the content information to be received from said server;

an ID acquiring step for acquiring a tuner control instance ID and a storage unit control instance ID to be received from said server; and

a control request sending step for executing sending processing of a control request as to each control instance wherein a control instance ID is specified.

29. The information processing method according to claim 28, further comprising:

a step for performing setting requests of the recording source content identifier as to said tuner control instance, and of the recording target content identifier as to said storage unit control instance, and also executing processing for notifying said recording source content identifier as to said storage unit control instance.

30. The information processing method according to claim 29, wherein said recording source content identifier is a channel list URL (Uniform Resource Locator) which is set as identifying information of a channel list including at least multiple channels within the receiving channels of said tuner;

and wherein said recording target content identifier is a content storage object URL which is set as an identifier of a content storage object corresponding to a content storage region which is set in said content storage unit.

31. A computer program for executing processing of content received from a tuner, said program comprising:

a step for setting a recording source content identifier as to the tuner control instance which executes delivery processing control as to the client of the content received from said tuner;

a step for setting a recording target content identifier as to the storage unit control instance which executes the recording processing control as to said content storage unit of the content received from said tuner;

a control request receiving step for receiving a control request which has identifying information of the tuner control instance or the storage unit control instance from the client; and

a control step for executing tuner control or storage unit control from the tuner control instance or the storage unit control instance, based on said identifying information.

32. A computer program with a client requesting data processing as to a server of content received from a tuner, said program comprising:

a protocol information sending step for sending to said server, first protocol information including a tuner identifying function ID as the tuner identifying information and second protocol information including a data storage unit identifying function ID as the data storage unit identifying information, within the protocol information included in the content information to be received from said server;

an ID acquiring step for acquiring a tuner control instance ID and a storage unit control instance ID which is received from said server; and

a control request transmission step for executing transmission processing of the control request as to each control instance wherein the control instance ID is specified.