JP2000333104A - Video image storage method, video image distribution system and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a distribution server to dynamically multiplex ES files and to distribute the multiplexed ES file upon request of a client. SOLUTION: The video image distribution system is a system where a plurality of clients 16 are connected to a distribution server 14 via a network, and the distribution server 14 generates a video ES file 12V; an audio ES file 12A and index files 13V, 13A corresponding to the ES files from a moving picture source 1 in advance and stores them. Upon the receipt of a request of each ES file from a client in this state, the distribution server extracts and multiplexes data of each ES file on request according to contents of the index files corresponding to each ES file, and can distributes the multiplexed ES file to the client in the unit of requested ES files.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video (Video)
o) A video storage method, video distribution system, and storage medium for distributing audio (Audio) information (hereinafter, referred to as video).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional digital video distribution system uses input video (video) materials and audio (audio).
The material is led to each individual encoder, and each coded ES (elementary stream) is created here. In addition, since it is necessary to synchronize these ESs, multiplex processing is performed to create one stream. , Stored in a distribution server.

[0003]

However, in the video storage method and the video distribution system described above, when there are individual requests from a plurality of clients or when the load status of a network line such as the Internet changes.
There is a problem that it is not possible to flexibly cope with such an environment.

[0004] For example, assuming that a certain client requests a video content dubbed to Japanese audio and another client requests a video content dubbed to English audio,
For one video ES, it is necessary to accumulate two types of content: a multiplexed Japanese audio ES and a multiplexed English audio ES.

Further, as another method, a multiplexed content of video ES + Japanese audio ES + English audio ES is prepared in advance on the distribution server side, and when a client requests a content, the multiplexed content is left as it is. It is conceivable that the requesting client that has delivered and received the content independently selects and extracts necessary content.

However, in the case of individually distributing in response to a request from each client, there is a problem that the load on the network increases, and the content itself stored in the server is already multiplexed. There is a problem that it is not possible to flexibly select and deliver the unit ES.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a video storage method which stores video ESs and audio ESs without multiplexing them and allows each ES to be flexibly selected.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a video distribution system which dynamically selects each ES in response to a request from a client, and multiplexes and distributes each ES.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium in which a program for dynamically selecting each ES in response to a request from a client and multiplexing and distributing the ES is recorded.

[0010]

According to the present invention, a video ES file, an audio ES file, and an index file corresponding to each ES are created from a moving picture material and stored in a distribution server. When there is a request for each ES required from the outside, each ES can be taken out according to the contents of the index file and can be multiplexed.

Another aspect of the present invention is a video distribution system in which a plurality of clients are connected to a distribution server via a network, wherein the distribution server includes a video ES file and an audio ES file created in advance from a moving image material. Video storage means for storing an index file corresponding to each ES; and data of the video ES file requested according to the contents of the index file belonging to each ES file when a request for each ES file is received from the client. ES multiplexing processing means for extracting and multiplexing the data of the audio ES file and distributing the data to the requesting client is provided.

[0012] By adopting such means, the video storage means of the distribution server creates and stores a video ES file, an audio ES file, and an index file corresponding to each ES from the moving picture material in advance. When a request for a file is received, the multiplexing processing means of the distribution server extracts and multiplexes the data of each requested ES file according to the contents of the index file belonging to each ES file and simultaneously distributes the data to the requesting client. Each ES can be dynamically multiplexed for each client's individual request, and also contributes to reducing the load on the network line.

[0013] The distribution server also stores in advance a video ES file and an audio E of different quality levels from the moving picture material.
By providing a video storage means for creating and storing an S file and an index file corresponding to each ES, a request for each ES file including a transmission rate from a client can be provided with a quality level corresponding to the requested transmission rate. ES file data can be multiplexed and distributed.

Further, in response to a request for each ES file accompanied by a transmission rate distribution for each ES file from a client, data of each ES file having a quality level in accordance with the requested transmission rate distribution is multiplexed. The distribution can be performed, and the client can request the distribution server to change the distribution of the transmission level as needed.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of a video storage method according to the present invention.

[0017] This video storage method includes the steps of input video,
A step of capturing each individual moving image material 1 such as audio while maintaining the interconnection, and each individual moving image material captured by this step is encoded by a separate encoder 2 to correspond to a video ES file 3, an audio ES file 4, and each ES And a step of storing the video ES file 3, the audio ES file 4, and the index files 5 and 6 corresponding to each ES in the distribution server 7. The time stamp (reproduction time) and the splice point (address) of each video ES file 3 and audio ES file 4 are written in the index files 5 and 6, respectively.

Therefore, according to the above-described video storage method, when each client receives an ES request, the video ES file 3 and the audio ES file 4 are linked while associating the time stamp and the splice point.
Can be extracted and multiplexed.

Next, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the video distribution system according to the present invention.

This system comprises a plurality of encoders 11
V, 11A, a video ES file 12V, an audio ES file 12A, index files 13V, 13A corresponding to each ES, a distribution server 14 as a server computer composed of a CPU, and a recording medium for recording a distribution processing program. 15 and a number of clients 16 requesting content.

The encoders 11V and 11A encode the moving picture material 1 such as video into digital data so that the client 16 can reproduce the video ES file 12V and the audio ES file 12A, respectively. It has a function of creating index files 13V and 13A for each ES.
Note that the video ES file 12V and the audio ES file 12A mean constituent units of content such as a video stream and an audio stream.

The ES index file 13V, 1
3A, a time stamp of each ES, which is a time management tag for decoding and reproduction processing attached to each access unit, and a splice point (address) of each ES, which is an offset from a file header, are arranged in association with each other. Is a list table.

The distribution server 14 includes the encoder 11
V, each ES file 12V encoded with 11A,
12A and the ES index files 13V and 13A are stored, and the ESs according to the request from the client 16 are stored.
, Index files 13V, 13A of each ES
, And distributes the data to the requesting client 16 as content data.

The recording medium 15 fetches the data of each of the ES files 12V and 12A, multiplexes and distributes the data based on the request when the client 16 requests each ES. A program as shown in FIG. 3 is recorded.

The client 16 includes a distribution server 14
To the distribution server 14 via a network.
It has a function of reproducing the data of each ES, that is, content data, distributed from a video reproducing apparatus (viewer).

Next, the operation of the above-described video distribution system will be described.

First, video and audio materials output from a camera, a microphone, and the like are individually input to the encoders 11V and 11A while interconnecting.
Here, the encoder 11V is a digital data which can reproduce the video material on the client 16, that is, the video E
An S file 12V and an index file 13V of the ES file 12V are created.
1A creates an audio ES file 12A capable of reproducing the audio material on the client 15 and an index file 13A of the ES file 12A, and stores them in the distribution server 14, respectively.

In the above state, the distribution server 1
4 reads the program as shown in FIG. 3 from the recording medium 15 and executes the following processing when a certain client 16 requests a content.

That is, when the distribution server 14 receives a required content request of each ES from a certain client 16 (S1), the distribution server 14 reads an index file of each ES according to the content of the request (S2, index file reading function).

Then, after performing an initialization process for resetting the output time to "0" to start transmission (S3),
The time stamp with the youngest time is selected from the time stamps in the index file (S4, time stamp selection function). Then, the data of the video ES file 12V and the data of the audio ES file 12A are extracted from the splice point (address) corresponding to the selected time stamp, and are multiplexed (S5, S5).
6, multiplex processing function). At this time, multiplexed data and content are distributed to the requesting client 16 simultaneously with the multiplexing process (S8, data distribution function).

It should be noted that MPEG2-TS (TS: Transpor
In the case of using multiplexing such as (t Stream), the packet is extracted from the splice point by TS packet size and is distributed to the requesting client 15 while being packaged.

Thereafter, rewriting and updating processing is performed using the time stamp selected in step S4 (S8), and it is determined whether or not all ESs have been output until the end time (S9).
If the output has not been completed, the process returns to step S4, and the time stamp with the next youngest time is selected based on the rewritten and updated time stamp, and each ES is sequentially multiplexed and distributed.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the ESs 12V and 12A are dynamically multiplexed and distributed according to a request from the client at the time of server distribution. There is no need to prepare as many contents as possible, and the amount of data that must be stored in the distribution server 14 can be minimized.

In response to a request from the client 16,
Unnecessary ES can be delivered without multiplexing, which contributes to efficient use of network lines and reduction of line load.

Further, since the requested ES is multiplexed and sent to the requesting client 16, it can be reproduced without worrying about a synchronization shift.

FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the video distribution system according to the present invention.

Normally, since the quality of the transmission line of the network such as the modem line and the ISDN line differs for each client 16 or the line quality changes drastically, the transmission rate at the time of distribution to each client is extremely high. Becomes important.

Therefore, in the present system, a video ES file, an audio ES file, and index files 13V and 13A corresponding to each ES file are created by the encoders 11V and 11A for the same moving image material such as video material and audio material. However, when creating each ES file, a plurality of video ES files 12V and audio ES files 12A of different qualities are created from the same moving image material.
And index file 13 for each ES file
V, 13A are created.

More specifically, for each material, a video ES file of quality level 1 (low quality) in which the material is often thinned,
An audio ES file and an index file corresponding to each ES, a video ES file having a quality level of 2 which is thinner than the quality level 1, an audio ES file and an index file corresponding to each ES, and a video ES file having a high quality level of 3 which is less thinned; An audio ES file and an index file corresponding to each ES are created and stored in the distribution server 14, respectively.
Note that quality level 1 corresponds to transmission rate 1, quality level 2 corresponds to transmission rate 2, and quality level 3 corresponds to transmission rate 3.

In the above state, when the client 16 requests the content server with the transmission rate of the transmission line quality for each ES from the distribution server 14, the distribution server 14 executes the processing shown in FIG. Execute

That is, when the distribution server 14 receives a content request accompanied by a transmission rate of the transmission line quality from the client 15 (S11), the distribution server 14 determines which quality level is based on the transmission rate included in the request content. (S12). For example, if the transmission rate is 3, the quality level of each ES is determined to be “3”. This means each ES file having the highest quality level of each ES shown.

Therefore, the distribution server 14 reads an index file belonging to each ES, which is the quality level determined from the different quality levels and is the requested content (S13).

Thereafter, an initialization process for resetting the output time to "0" for starting transmission is performed (S1).
4) The time stamp of the youngest time in the index file is selected (S15), and the data and audio ES of the video ES file 12V are determined from the splice point (address) corresponding to the selected time stamp.
The data of the file 12A is extracted, and at the same time, the requested content is distributed to the requesting client 16 while multiplexing at the requested transmission rate. After that, the rewriting and updating process is performed using the selected time stamp (16: process similar to S5 to S8 in FIG. 3).

It is determined whether or not all ESs of quality level 3 have been output until the end time (S17). If not, the process returns to step S15, and the time stamp of the next youngest time from the rewritten and updated time stamp is determined. Select and sequentially distribute each ES while multiplexing it.

In this case, the E stored in the distribution server 14
In S, each ES, which is a combination of ESs having the highest quality level that does not exceed the transmission rate requested by the client, is simultaneously multiplexed and distributed.

The requesting client 16 can notify the distribution server 14 of a change in the transmission rate even while the content is being reproduced. Distribution server 1 that received notification
Reference numeral 4 multiplexes each ES having a quality level corresponding to the changed transmission rate. At this time, the ESs are simultaneously multiplexed and distributed while referring to the time stamp of the index file so that no break occurs.

Therefore, according to the above embodiment, each client can easily acquire multiplexed content data at a required transmission rate. Further, even during the content reproduction, the client can acquire the content of the quality level corresponding to the changed transmission rate under the request for changing the transmission rate.

FIG. 6 is a system configuration diagram showing still another embodiment of the video distribution system according to the present invention.

Conventionally, generally, the distribution server 14 side uniquely determines the quality level of the content. However, in the present system, as shown in FIG. The video ES file 12V, the audio ES file 12A, and the ES corresponding index files 13V and 13A of 1, 2, and 3 are created and stored in the distribution server 14, respectively.

In this state, the client 16 notifies the distribution server 14 of a required ES request with the distribution of the transmission rate to be allocated between video and audio.

The distribution server 14 determines the quality level of the created video ES and audio ES in accordance with the distribution of the requested transmission rate as shown in FIG. The video ES and the audio ES are extracted and multiplexed in ascending order of the time stamp of the index file corresponding to the ES and the audio ES, and the content at the requested transmission rate is delivered to the requesting client 16.

When the client 16 wants to increase the transmission rate of the video ES over the audio ES during the reproduction of each multiplexed ES, the client 16 determines the distribution of the video transmission rate 2 and the audio transmission rate 2 by, for example, the video transmission rate. The distribution server 14 is notified so that the distribution of the rate 3 and the transmission rate 1 of the audio is performed. In other words, the video ES 12V having a high quality level 3 for the video ES and the audio E 12 having a low quality level 1 for the audio ES.
S is requested from the distribution server 14, respectively.

If the distribution server 14 stores the video ES of the transmission rate 3 and the audio ES of the transmission rate 1 as requested, as shown in FIG. Are multiplexed at a transmission rate corresponding to the transmission level and distributed to the requesting client 16.

Therefore, according to such an embodiment,
Video E with multiple qualities for the same video material in advance
S, the audio ES and the index of the ES are created and stored in the distribution server 14, so that the distribution server 14 multiplexes and distributes the video ES and the audio ES having the required transmission rates according to the request from the client side.
Even during playback, video ES and audio ES are multiplexed and distributed based on the change in distribution of transmission levels, so that content at the transmission rate requested by the client can be easily obtained.

In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention, the video ES and the audio ES are stored in units of each ES without being multiplexed.
It is possible to provide a video storage method capable of flexibly selecting a unit and multiplexing.

Further, according to the present invention, the distribution server can dynamically multiplex and distribute each ES according to the request of the client,
Further, it is possible to provide a video distribution system capable of multiplexing and distributing each ES having a quality level based on a client's request, and further reducing network load and distributing contents with high flexibility.

Further, the present invention dynamically selects each ES in response to a request from a client,

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining an example of a video storage method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a video distribution system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a video distribution system and a recording medium according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the video distribution system according to the present invention.

5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the distribution server shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a system configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the video distribution system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Video material 2, 11V, 11A ... Encoder 3, 12V ... Video ES file 4, 12A ... Audio ES file 5, 6, 13V, 13A ... Index file 7, 14 ... Distribution server 15 ... Recording medium 16 ... Client

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A video storage method, wherein a video ES file, an audio ES file, and an index file corresponding to each ES are created from a moving image material and stored in a distribution server. 2. A video distribution system in which a plurality of clients are connected to a distribution server via a network, wherein the distribution server includes a video ES file, an audio ES file, and an index file corresponding to each ES, which are created in advance from a moving image material. Video storage means for storing
Multiplexing processing means for, when receiving a request for each ES file from the client, extracting and multiplexing the data of each of the requested ES files according to the contents of the index file belonging to each of the ES files, multiplexing the data, and delivering the multiplexed data to the requesting client A video distribution system comprising: 3. A video ES created in advance from a moving picture material
When a file, an audio ES file, and an index file associated with a time stamp and a splice point corresponding to each ES are stored, and a request for each ES file is externally received by a server computer that performs distribution processing of each ES file An index file reading function for reading each index file corresponding to each requested ES file, a time stamp selecting function for selecting a time stamp in ascending order from each of the read index files,
A multiplexing processing function for extracting and multiplexing the data of the requested ES file data from a splice point corresponding to the time stamp selected by the selection function, and a data distribution for distributing the multiplexed data The recording medium readable by the server computer, which stores a distribution processing program to be read to realize the functions. 4. A video distribution system in which a plurality of clients are connected to a distribution server via a network, wherein the distribution server includes a video ES file, an audio ES file, and each ES having different quality levels created in advance from a moving image material. A video storage unit for storing a corresponding index file; a quality level determining unit for determining which quality level based on the request content when a request for each ES file including the transmission rate is received from the client; Each of the requested ES file data is transmitted at a requested transmission rate in accordance with the contents of the index file belonging to each of the required ES files from the respective ES files stored in the means and having the quality level determined by the quality level determining means. Multiplex processing means for multiplexing and distributing Video information distribution system, characterized in that. 5. A video distribution system in which a plurality of clients are connected to a distribution server via a network, wherein the distribution server includes a video ES file, an audio ES file, and each ES having different quality levels created in advance from a moving image material. A video storage unit for storing a corresponding index file, and when a request for each ES file accompanied by a transmission rate distribution for each ES file is received from the client, the quality of each ES file is determined from the transmission rate distribution that is the content of the request. Quality level judging means for judging the level distribution, and requesting each E having a quality level corresponding to the distribution of the transmission rate judged by the quality level judging means from each ES file stored in the video accumulating means.
A video distribution system comprising: multiplexing processing means for multiplexing and distributing the data of each requested ES file at a requested transmission rate in accordance with the contents of an index file corresponding to an S file. 6. The video distribution system according to claim 5, wherein said quality level judging means receives each E from the client.
When receiving a request for each of the ES files accompanied by a change in the transmission rate distribution of the S file, the distribution of the changed quality level is determined from the request and transmitted to the multiplex processing means. . 7. The video distribution system according to claim 2, wherein said multiplexing processing means includes a time stamp of each of said ES files and a time stamp corresponding to said time stamp. Extracting the index file associated with the splice point, extracting data of each requested ES file from the splice point corresponding to the time stamp of the youngest time from the index file, and performing multiplexing processing. Video distribution system.