AV transmission system

• US 20060218603A1
• Filed: 03/24/2006
• Published: 09/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd. (Funai Electric Holdings Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd. (Funai Electric Holdings Company Limited)
• Inventors: Kanehira, Takaharu
• Application Number:
  US11/387,870
• Publication Number:
  US 20060218603A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/89
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4333 Processing operations in response to a pause request
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A time lag generated during device operation is reduced at a low cost in an AV system for transmitting streaming data of videos and audios from a server device to output it from a client device. The AV transmission system includes the server device for transmitting video and audio data, and a client device for receiving the video and audio data and demodulating them to video and audio signals to output the same. When a reproduction stop operation command or a reproduction skip operation command is input, a control unit of the client device discards buffered video and audio data of the client device side, and a control unit of the server device discards buffered video and audio data of the server device side.

Claims

1. An AV transmission system comprising:

a server device comprising a bit rate conversion circuit for converting a bit rate of video data and audio data which are continuously sent, a buffer memory for temporarily holding the video data and the audio data to convert the bit rate, a transmission/reception section for transmitting the video and audio data and receiving a command, and a server control unit for executing overall control of the device; and

a client device comprising a transmission/reception section for receiving the video data and the audio data transmitted from the server device and for transmitting the command to the server device, a decoder circuit for decoding a video data and an audio data which are continuously sent and compressed, a buffer memory for temporarily storing the video data and the audio data for the decoding, an operation input unit for inputting an operation command from an outside, and a client control unit for executing overall control of the device, and the client device demodulating the video data and the audio data to a video signal and an audio signal to output the signals, wherein;

the client control unit is configured to discard the data held in the buffer memory of the client device side when the operation input unit inputs a reproduction stop operation command of stopping reproduction of a video and an audio to output another screen, or a reproduction skip operation command of skipping a reproduction position of the video and the audio for a limited time to continue reproduction, and to inhibit discarding of the data held in the buffer memory of the client device side when the operation input unit inputs a speed change operation command of changing a reproduction speed, and

the server control unit is configured to discard the data held in the buffer memory of the server device side when the transmission/reception section receives a command indicating the reproduction stop operation command or the reproduction skip operation command, and to inhibit discarding of the data held in the buffer memory of the server device side when the transmission/reception section receives a command indicating the speed change operation command.

2. An AV transmission system comprising:

a server device comprising a data processing circuit for processing video data and audio data which are continuously sent, a buffer memory for temporarily holding the video data and the audio data to process the data, a transmission/reception section for transmitting the video data and the audio data and receiving a command, and a server control unit for executing overall control of the device; and

a client device comprising a transmission/reception section for receiving the video data and the audio data transmitted from the server device and for transmitting the command to the server device, a data processing circuit for processing the video data and the audio data which are continuously sent, a buffer memory for temporarily storing the video data and the audio data to process the data, an operation input unit for inputting an operation command from an outside, and a client control unit for executing overall control of the device, and the client device demodulating the video data and the audio data to a video signal and an audio signal to output the signals, wherein;

the client control unit is configured to discard the data held in the buffer memory of the client device side and to transmit a command indicating a first operation command to the server device by the transmission/reception section when the operation input unit inputs the first operation command, and

the server control unit is configured to discard the data held in the buffer memory of the server device side when the transmission/reception section receives a command indicating the first operation command.

3. The AV transmission system as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the client control unit is configured not to discard the data held in the buffer memory of the client device side when the operation input unit inputs a second operation command, and

the server control unit is configured not to discard the data held in the buffer memory of the serer device side when a command indicating the second operation command is received.

4. The AV transmission system as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a setting section for setting whether an operation command input from the outside causes the data of the buffer memory to be discarded or not by an operation from the outside.

5. The AV transmission system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first operation command contains a reproduction stop operation command of stopping reproduction of a video and an audio to output another screen, or a reproduction skip operation command of skipping a reproduction position of the video and the audio for a limited time to continue reproduction.

6. The AV transmission system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second operation command contains a speed change operation command of changing a reproduction speed.

7. The AV transmission system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the data processing circuit of the server device comprises a bit rate conversion circuit for converting a bit rate of the video data and the audio data, or a transmission processing circuit for converting the video data and the audio data into a data form which is transmittable by the transmission/reception section.

8. The AV transmission system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the data processing circuit of the client device comprises a decoder circuit for decoding a video data and an audio data which are compressed.