JP2016058976A - Communication system, time difference identification method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce an error included in time difference that is between a communication terminal and a server and is identified by the communication terminal.SOLUTION: A communication system includes a server and a communication terminal that are connected through a network. The communication terminal identifies a ratio between a bandwidth of an uplink channel from the communication terminal to the server and a bandwidth of a downlink channel from the server to the communication terminal on the basis of time needed in transmitting and receiving first data whose size in the uplink channel differs from that in the downlink channel. The communication terminal identifies time difference from the server on the basis of the identified ratio between the bandwidths and information on time at which second data is transmitted/received to/from the server.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 22

Description

  The present invention relates to an invention for transmitting data to a communication terminal such as a personal computer or an electronic blackboard.

  In recent years, with the spread of the Internet, cloud computing has been used in various fields. Cloud computing is a service usage form in which a user uses a service (cloud service) provided by a server on the Internet using a communication terminal connected to the Internet and pays the price.

  However, Web (Web) content handled on the Internet tends to be enriched to meet various demands. Therefore, when using enriched content using a communication terminal for using the service via the Internet, there is a problem that the load on the communication terminal is high.

  Further, as a technique for reducing the load on the communication terminal, there is a technique called a thin client (see, for example, Patent Document 1). With this thin client technology, various applications can be executed on the communication terminal on the web base using the Internet environment.

  However, in order to use the content provided from the server for lubrication in the communication terminal, it is necessary to correctly grasp the time difference from the server on the communication terminal side, but the network environment connecting the server and the communication terminal When the bandwidth of the uplink from the communication terminal to the server is different from the bandwidth of the downlink from the server to the communication terminal, there may be a relatively large error in the time difference from the server specified in the communication terminal.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a communication system including a server and a communication terminal connected via a network, wherein the communication terminal is connected to the server from the communication terminal. Identifying the bandwidth ratio between the uplink and the downlink based on the time required to transmit and receive the first data of different sizes on the line and the downlink from the server to the communication terminal; A time difference with respect to the server is specified based on the specified bandwidth ratio and information on a time at which second data is transmitted / received to / from the server.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the error contained in the time difference with the server specified in a communication terminal can be reduced, and it becomes possible to utilize the content provided from a server more smoothly in a communication terminal.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a distribution system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an image diagram when a dongle is attached to the communication terminal. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a basic distribution method. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of multicast. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a multi-display. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of composite distribution using a plurality of communication terminals via the distribution control system. FIG. 7 is a hardware configuration diagram of a distribution control system, a communication terminal, a terminal management system, and a web server. FIG. 8 is a hardware configuration diagram of the dongle. FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram mainly showing each function of the distribution control system. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram mainly showing each function of the communication terminal. FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing each function of the terminal management system. FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram of a distribution destination selection menu screen. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram of the terminal management table. FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram of the available terminal management table. FIG. 15 is a detailed view of the encoder bridge unit. FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram illustrating each function of the conversion unit. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing basic distribution processing of the distribution control system. FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram showing processing of communication using a plurality of communication terminals via the distribution control system. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of an error that may occur in the time adjustment process. FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining an error to be considered in the time adjustment process. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for calculating the bandwidth ratio between the uplink and the downlink. FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram showing time adjustment processing. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time difference calculated in consideration of a bandwidth ratio. FIG. 24 is a sequence diagram showing a process of line adaptive control of data transmitted from the distribution control system to the communication terminal. FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram showing a process of line adaptive control of data transmitted from the communication terminal to the distribution control system. FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram showing multi-display processing. FIG. 27 is a sequence diagram illustrating multi-display processing. FIG. 28 is a sequence diagram showing multi-display processing.

  Hereinafter, the distribution system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, using cloud computing, the web browser (hereinafter referred to as “browser”) and encoder are linked and executed on the cloud, and video data, sound data, etc. are transmitted to the communication terminal. The invention to be described will be described in detail.

  The “image” shown below includes still images and moving images. In addition, “video” shown below basically means a moving image, and includes a case where the moving image is stopped and a still image state is entered. Furthermore, in the case where at least one of a still image and sound is indicated, it is indicated as “still image (sound)”. When at least one of an image and sound is shown, it is indicated as “image (sound)”. When at least one of video and sound is indicated, it is indicated as “video (sound)”.

[Outline of Embodiment]
An outline of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a distribution system according to the present embodiment.

<Outline of system configuration>
First, an outline of the configuration of the distribution system 1 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the distribution system 1 of this embodiment is constructed by a distribution control system 2, a plurality of communication terminals (5 a to 5 f), a terminal management system 7, and a web server 8. In the following, an arbitrary communication terminal among the plurality of communication terminals (5a to 5f) is represented as “communication terminal 5”. The distribution control system 2, the terminal management system 7, and the web server 8 are all constructed by a server computer.

  The communication terminal 5 is a terminal used by a user who receives the service of the distribution system 1. Among these, the communication terminal 5a is a notebook PC (Personal Computer). The communication terminal 5b is a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The communication terminal 5c is an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral / Printer / Product) in which copy, scan, print, and fax functions are combined. The communication terminal 5d is a projector. The communication terminal 5e is a television (video) conference terminal provided with a camera, a microphone, and a speaker. The communication terminal 5f is an electronic blackboard (whiteboard) capable of electronically converting content drawn by a user or the like.

  The communication terminal 5 is not only a terminal as shown in FIG. 1, but also a wristwatch, a vending machine, a gas meter, a car navigation device, a game machine, an air conditioner, a lighting fixture, a camera alone, a microphone alone, a speaker alone, etc. However, it may be a device capable of communicating via a communication network such as the Internet.

  The distribution control system 2, the communication terminal 5, the terminal management system 7, and the web server 8 can communicate with each other via a communication network 9 such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). The communication network 9 includes a network by wireless communication such as 3G (3rd Generation), WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), and LTE (Long Term Evolution).

  Some communication terminals 5, such as the communication terminal 5d, do not have a function of communicating with other terminals or systems via the communication network 9. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the user inserts the dongle 99 into the USB (Universal Serial Bus) or HDMI (registered trademark) (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) interface portion of the communication terminal 6d. 5 can communicate with other terminals and systems via the communication network 9. FIG. 2 is an image diagram when a dongle is attached to the communication terminal.

  Further, the distribution control system 2 has a browser 20 on the cloud, and a renderer function in the browser 20 acquires single or plural content data indicated in a predetermined description language and renders it. To generate frame data as still image data such as bitmap data in RGB (Red, Green, Blue) and sound data such as PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) data (that is, still image (sound) data) Can do. The content data is data acquired from the web server 8 or an arbitrary communication terminal, such as image (sound) data in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), MP4 (MPEG-4) Image (sound) data, sound data by AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), and the like.

  Furthermore, the distribution control system 2 has an encoding unit 19 on the cloud, and the encoding unit 19 plays a role as an encoder, whereby each frame data as still image (sound) data is converted into H.264 (MPEG- 4 AVC), H.265, Motion JPEG, and other video data (sound) data in a compression encoding format.

  On the other hand, the terminal management system 7 performs login authentication of the communication terminal 5 and manages contract information and the like of the communication terminal 5. Further, the terminal management system 7 has a function of an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server for transmitting electronic mail. The terminal management system 7 can be realized, for example, as a virtual machine deployed on a cloud service (IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service). The terminal management system 7 is desirably operated in a multiplexed manner in order to provide a continuous service in response to an unexpected situation.

  Moreover, the browser 20 enables real-time communication (RTC: Real-time communication / collaboration). Further, the distribution control system 2 has an encoding unit 19 in FIG. 16 to be described later, and the encoding unit 19 performs real-time encoding on the frame data output by the browser 20, and performs the H.264 standard. The video (sound) data generated by the conversion based on the above can be output. Therefore, the processing of the distribution control system 2 is different from the case of reading and distributing video (sound) data having no real-time property recorded on a DVD by a DVD player.

  Note that not only the distribution control system 2 but also the communication terminal 5 may have a browser. In this case, it is not necessary to activate the browser of each communication terminal 5 by updating the browser 20 of the distribution control system 2.

<Outline of various delivery methods>
Next, an outline of various delivery methods will be described.

(Basic delivery)
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a basic distribution method. In the distribution system 1, as shown in FIG. 3, the browser 20 of the distribution control system 2 acquires and renders web content data [A] as image (sound) data from the web server 8, thereby rendering Each frame data [A] as still image (sound) data is generated. Then, the encoder bridge unit 30 including the encoding unit 19 encodes each frame data [A] to generate video (sound) data [A] (an example of transmission data) of a compression encoding method such as H.264. Convert. The distribution control system 2 distributes the converted video (sound) data [A] to the communication terminal 5.

  As described above, even in the case of rich web content data, the communication control system 2 can convert the web content data such as HTML into video (sound) data compressed according to H.264 or the like on the cloud. 5 can be distributed. Therefore, on the communication terminal 5 side, there is no need to renew the browser of its own terminal or to increase the specifications and specifications of CPU (Central Processing Unit), OS (Operating System), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. Web content can be played smoothly.

  In addition, even if web content is becoming richer in the future, it is only necessary to increase the specifications of the browser 20 and the CPU in the distribution control system 2 on the cloud, so that it is not necessary to increase the specifications of the communication terminal 5.

  Furthermore, the distribution system 1 can also apply the above-described distribution method to distribute web content data as video (sound) data to a plurality of sites as shown in FIGS. Here, the distribution method shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 will be described.

(Multicast)
FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of multicast. As shown in FIG. 4, the single browser 20 of the distribution control system 2 acquires the web content data [A] as image (sound) data from the web server 8 and renders it. Each frame data [A] as (sound) data is generated. Then, the encoder bridge unit 30 encodes each frame data [A] and converts it into video (sound) data. Thereafter, the distribution control system 2 distributes the video (sound) data [A] (an example of transmission data) to a plurality of communication terminals (5f1, 5f2, 5f3).

  As described above, the same video (sound) is reproduced at a plurality of locations. In this case, the communication terminals (5f1, 5f2, 5f3) do not need to have the same display reproduction capability (same resolution, etc.). Such a distribution method is called, for example, “multicast”.

(Multi-display)
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a multi-display. As shown in FIG. 5, the single browser 20 of the distribution control system 2 acquires and renders web content data [XYZ] as image (sound) data from the web server 8, thereby rendering a still image. Each frame data [XYZ] as (sound) data is generated. Then, the encoder bridge unit 30 divides the frame data [XYZ] into a plurality of frame data ([X], [Y], [Z]), and then encodes them to thereby generate a plurality of video (sound) data ( [X], [Y], [Z]). Thereafter, the distribution control system 2 distributes the video (sound) data [X] (an example of transmission data) to the communication terminal 5f1. Similarly, the distribution control system 2 distributes video (sound) data [Y] (an example of transmission data) to the communication terminal 5f2 and communicates video (sound) data [Z] (an example of transmission data). Delivered to the terminal 5f3.

  As described above, for example, even in the case of horizontally long web content [XYZ], video (sound) is reproduced by being divided by a plurality of communication terminals 5, so the communication terminals (5f1, 5f2, 5f3) are arranged in a line. Then, the same effect as that of reproducing one large video can be obtained. In this case, the communication terminals (5f1, 5f2, 5f3) need to have the same display reproduction capability (such as the same resolution). Such a distribution method is called “multi-display”, for example.

(Composite delivery)
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of composite distribution using a plurality of communication terminals via the distribution control system. As shown in FIG. 6, at the first base (right side in FIG. 6), the communication terminal 5f1 as an electronic blackboard and the communication terminal 5e1 as a video conference terminal are used, and the second base (in FIG. 6). On the left side, a communication terminal 5f2 as an electronic blackboard and a communication terminal 5e2 as a video conference terminal are also used. At the first base, an electronic pen P1 is used for causing the communication terminal 5f1 to draw characters and the like by stroke. At the second base, the electronic pen P2 for causing the communication terminal 5f2 to draw characters and the like by stroke. Is being used.

  The video (sound) data acquired by the communication terminal 5e1 at the first base is encoded by the encoding unit 60 and then transmitted to the distribution control system 2. Thereafter, the data is decoded by the decoding unit 40 of the distribution control system 2 and input to the browser 20. In addition, operation data indicating a stroke drawn on the communication terminal 5f1 by the electronic pen P1 (in this case, coordinate data on the display of the communication terminal 5f1) is transmitted to the distribution control system 2 and input to the browser 20. On the other hand, also at the second site, the video (sound) data acquired by the communication terminal 5e2 is encoded by the encoding unit 60 and then transmitted to the distribution control system 2. Thereafter, the data is decoded by the decoding unit 40 of the distribution control system 2 and input to the browser 20. Further, operation data indicating a stroke drawn on the communication terminal 5f2 by the electronic pen P2 (in this case, coordinate data on the display of the communication terminal 5f2, etc.) is transmitted to the distribution control system 2 and input to the browser 20.

  On the other hand, the browser 20 acquires, for example, the web content data [A], which is a background image displayed on each display of the communication terminals (5f1, 5f2), from the web server 8. Then, the browser 20 combines the web content data [A], the operation data ([p1], [p2]) and the video (sound) content data ([E1], [E2]) to render each Frame data as still image (sound) data in which contents ([A], [p1], [p2], [E1], [E2]) are set in a desired layout is generated. The encoder bridge unit 30 encodes each frame data, and the distribution control system 2 displays the same content ([A], [p1], [p2], [E1], [E2]) at each site ( Sound) data (an example of transmission data) is distributed. As a result, at the first location, the video ([A], [p1], [p2], [E1 (video part)] and [E2 (video part)]) is displayed on the display of the communication terminal 5f1. In addition, a sound [E2 (sound part)] is output from the speaker of the communication terminal 5e1. On the other hand, at the second site, the video ([A], [p1], [p2], [E1 (video part)] and [E2 (video part)]) is displayed on the display of the communication terminal 5f2. At the same time, sound [E1 (sound part)] is output from the speaker of the communication terminal 5e2. At the first site, the sound [E1 (sound part)] of the site is not output by the echo cancellation function of the communication terminal 5f1. On the other hand, at the second site, the sound [E2 (sound part)] of the local site is not output by the echo cancellation function of the communication terminal 5f2.

  As described above, since the first base and the second base can perform remote sharing processing for sharing the same information in real time between remote locations, the distribution system 1 of the present embodiment is effective for remote conferences and the like. is there.

[Detailed Description of Embodiment]
Subsequently, the embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

<Hardware Configuration of Embodiment>
First, the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a hardware configuration diagram of the distribution control system, the communication terminal, the terminal management system, and the web server. FIG. 8 is a hardware configuration diagram of the dongle. Note that the hardware configuration involved in the communication of the communication terminal is the same as part of the hardware configuration of the communication terminal, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the distribution control system 2 is used as a work area for the CPU 201 that controls the overall operation of the distribution control system 2, a ROM 202 that stores programs used to drive the CPU 201 such as an IPL, and the CPU 201. RAM 203, HDD 204 that stores various data such as programs, HDC (Hard Disk Controller) 205 that controls reading or writing of various data to the HDD 204 according to the control of the CPU 201, and data reading or writing to a recording medium 206 such as a flash memory ( Media drive 207 for controlling storage), display 208 for displaying various information, I / F 209 for transmitting data or connecting dongle 99 using communication network 9, keyboard 211, mouse 212, a microphone 213, a speaker 214, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) 215, and a bus line 220 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above components as shown in FIG. Yes. There may be a case where no GPU is provided as in the communication terminal 5d as a projector. Moreover, since the hardware configuration of the terminal management system 7 and the web server 8 is the same as the hardware configuration of the distribution control system 2, the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the dongle shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the dongle 99 includes a CPU 91 that controls the operation of the dongle 99 as a whole, a ROM 92 that stores a basic input / output program, a RAM 93 that is used as a work area for the CPU 91, and data stored according to the control of the CPU 91. An EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM) 94 for reading or writing, a GPU 95, an interface I / F 96 for connecting to the interface I / F 209 of the communication terminal 5, an antenna 97a, and a short-range wireless technology using the antenna 97a A communication unit 97 that performs communication and a bus line 90 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above-described units are provided. Examples of the short-range wireless technology include NFC (Near Field Communication) standard, BlueTooth (registered trademark), WiFi (Wireless Fidelity), ZigBee, and the like. In addition, since the dongle 99 is equipped with the GPU 95, even if the GPU is not equipped like the communication terminal 5d, the dongle 99 is attached as shown in FIG. The terminal 5d can execute calculation processing necessary for graphics display.

<Functional Configuration of Embodiment>
Next, the functional configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Functional configuration of distribution control system)
First, the functional configuration of the distribution control system 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram mainly showing each function of the distribution control system. Although FIG. 9 shows a functional configuration when the distribution control system 2 distributes video (sound) data to the communication terminal 5f1, it has the same functional configuration even when the distribution destination is other than the communication terminal 5f1. . The distribution control system 2 includes a plurality of distribution engine servers. However, in order to simplify the description, a case where a single distribution engine server is included will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the distribution control system 2 has each functional configuration shown in FIG. 9 by a hardware configuration and a program such as the CPU 201 shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the distribution control system 2 includes a browser 20, a transmission / reception unit 21, a browser management unit 22, a transmission FIFO buffer 24, a time management unit 25, a time acquisition unit 26, a line adaptation control unit 27, an encoder bridge unit 30, and transmission / reception. Section 31, receiving FIFO 34, recognition section 35, delay information acquisition section 37 a, line adaptation control section 37 b, and decoding section 40. Further, the distribution control system 2 has a storage unit 2000 constructed by the HDD 204 shown in FIG. The storage unit 2000 stores later-described recognition information output from the recognition unit 35 and sent via the browser management unit 22. The content data acquired by the browser 20 can be temporarily stored in the storage unit 2000 as a cache.

  Among the functional configurations described above, the browser 20 is a web browser that operates within the distribution control system 2. The browser 20 is constantly updated in response to the richness of web content. The browser 20 includes, for example, Media Player, Flash Player, JavaScript (registered trademark), CSS, and HTML renderer. Note that JavaScript (registered trademark) includes a standard specification and a distribution system 1 original.

  Here, Media Player is a browser plug-in for reproducing multimedia files such as video (sound) files in the browser 20. Flash Player is a browser plug-in for reproducing Flash content in the browser 20. The unique JavaScript (registered trademark) is a group of JavaScript (registered trademark) that provides an API (Application Programming Interface) of a service unique to the distribution system 1. CSS is a technology for efficiently defining the appearance and style of web pages written in HTML. The HTML renderer is an HTML rendering engine.

  The renderer renders content data such as web content data as image (sound) data, thereby generating each frame data as still image (sound) data. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the renderer is a layout engine (Layout Engine) that performs layout of a plurality of types of contents ([A], [p1], [p2], [E1], [E2]). But there is.

  Further, in the distribution system 1 of the present embodiment, a plurality of browsers 20 are prepared in the distribution control system 2, and a cloud browser to be used for a user session is selected from the plurality of browsers 20. Here, in order to simplify the description, the case where a single browser 20 is prepared will be described below.

  The transmission / reception unit 21 transmits / receives various data, various requests, various instructions and the like to / from the terminal management system 7 and the web server 8. For example, the transmission / reception unit 21 acquires web content data from the content site of the web server 8. Further, the transmission / reception unit 21 outputs various data acquired from the terminal management system 7 to each functional configuration in the distribution control system 2, or based on various data acquired from the terminal management system 7, various requests, or various instructions. Thus, each functional configuration in the distribution control system 2 is controlled. For example, when there are a plurality of browsers 20, the transmission / reception unit 21 outputs a distribution pattern switching request from the terminal management system 7 to the browser management unit 22, and the browser management unit 22 starts from one browser among the plurality of browsers 20. Controls switching to another browser. Further, the transmission / reception unit 21 switches the combination of the components in the encoder bridge unit 30 illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16 based on the distribution switching request from the terminal management system 7.

  The browser management unit 22 manages the browser 20. For example, the browser management unit 22 instructs the browser 20 to start or end, or assigns an encoder ID at the time of start or end. Here, the encoder ID is identification information that is assigned by the browser management unit 22 to manage the process of the encoder bridge 30. The browser management unit 22 assigns and manages a browser ID every time the browser 20 is activated. Here, the browser ID is identification information for identifying the browser 20 by the browser management unit 22 in order to manage the process of the browser 20.

  Further, the browser management unit 22 acquires various operation data from the communication terminal 5 via the transmission / reception unit 31 and outputs the operation data to the browser 20. The operation data is data generated by an operation event (such as an operation with the keyboard 211 or the mouse 212 or a stroke with the electronic pen P) in the communication terminal 5. When the communication terminal 5 is provided with various sensors such as a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and an acceleration sensor, the browser management unit 22 acquires sensor information that is an output signal of each sensor from the communication terminal 5, Output to the browser 20. Further, the browser management unit 22 acquires image (sound) data from the recognition unit 35 and outputs the image (sound) data to the browser 20, or acquires recognition information described later from the recognition unit 35 and stores it in the storage unit 2000. In addition, the browser management unit 22 acquires video (sound) data from the reception FIFO 34 and outputs it to the browser 20.

  The transmission FIFO 24 is a buffer for storing each frame data as still image (sound) data generated by the browser 20.

  The time management unit 25 manages the time T unique to the distribution control system 2.

  The time acquisition unit 26 performs time adjustment processing in cooperation with a time control unit 56 in the communication terminal 5 described later. Specifically, the time acquisition unit 26 acquires time information (T) indicating the time T in the distribution control system 2 from the time management unit 25, or time control described later via the transmission / reception unit 31 and the transmission / reception unit 51. The time information (t) indicating the time t in the communication terminal 5 is received from the unit 56, or the time information (t) and the time information (T) are transmitted to the time control unit 56.

  The line adaptation control unit 27 calculates the reproduction delay time U based on the transmission delay time information (D), and calculates the operating conditions such as the frame rate and data resolution of the conversion unit 10 in the encoder bridge unit 30. To do. This reproduction delay time is a time for delaying reproduction by buffering data before reproduction.

  The encoder bridge unit 30 outputs each frame data as still image (sound) data generated by the browser 20 to the conversion unit 10 described later in the encoder bridge unit 30. The encoder bridge unit 30 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16. FIG. 15 is a detailed view of the encoder bridge unit. FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram showing each function of the conversion unit.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the encoder bridge unit 30 includes a creation / selection unit 310, a selection unit 320, and a plurality of conversion units (10a, 10b, 10c) between them. Here, three conversion units are shown, but any number may be used. Hereinafter, an arbitrary conversion unit is expressed as “conversion unit 10”.

  Furthermore, the conversion unit 10 converts the data format of each frame data as still image (sound) data generated by the browser 20 into a data format such as H.264 that can be distributed to the communication terminal 5 via the communication network 9. To do. Therefore, the conversion unit 10 includes a trimming unit 11, a resizing unit 12, a dividing unit 13, and an encoding unit 19, as shown in FIG. The trimming unit 11, the resizing unit 12, and the dividing unit 13 do not perform processing in the case of sound data.

  Among these, the trimming unit 11 performs a process of cutting out only a part of the still image. The resizing unit 12 changes the scale of the still image. The dividing unit 13 divides the still image as shown in FIG.

  In addition, the encoding unit 19 can distribute video (sound) data to the communication terminal 5 via the communication network 9 by encoding each frame data as still image (sound) data generated by the browser 20. Convert. In addition, if the video does not move (if there is no change between frames), the encoding unit 19 subsequently saves the bandwidth by inserting skip frames until the video moves.

  When sound data is generated together with still image data by rendering, both of these data are encoded. However, when only sound data is generated, trimming, resizing, and division are not performed. Only the encoding is performed and the data is compressed.

  In addition, the creation / selection unit 310 creates a new conversion unit 10 or selects frame data as still image (sound) data to be input to the conversion unit 10 that has already been created. In the case of creation, the creation / selection unit 310 creates the conversion unit 10 that can perform conversion according to the reproduction capability of video (sound) data in the communication terminal 5. Moreover, as a case of selection, the conversion unit 10 that has already been created is selected. For example, when starting distribution to the communication terminal 5b in addition to distribution to the communication terminal 5a, the same video (sound) data as the video (sound) data distributed to the communication terminal 5a is distributed to the communication terminal 5b. There is. In such a case, when the communication terminal 5b has the same reproduction capability as the reproduction capability of the video (sound) data in the communication terminal 5a, the creation / selection unit 310 adds a new conversion unit 10b for the communication terminal 5b. Without using the conversion unit 10a already created for the communication terminal 5a.

  On the other hand, the selection unit 320 selects a desired one from the conversion units 10 that have already been created. By the selection by the creation / selection unit 310 and the selection unit 320, various patterns as shown in FIG. 6 can be distributed.

  The transmission / reception unit 31 transmits / receives various data and requests to / from the communication terminal 5. The transmission / reception unit 31 transmits various data and requests to the communication terminal 5 from the cloud via the communication network 9, so that the distribution control system 2 distributes various data and requests to the communication terminal 5. can do. For example, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits authentication screen data for prompting the user to log in to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 in the login process of the communication terminal 5. In addition, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits and receives data to the user application of the communication terminal 5 and the device application of the communication terminal 6 using a protocol unique to the distribution system 1 via an HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer) server. I do. This unique protocol is an HTTPS-based application layer protocol for transmitting and receiving data between the distribution control system 2 and the communication terminal in real time without interruption. The transmission / reception unit 31 performs transmission response control, real-time data creation, command transmission, reception response control, reception data analysis, and gesture conversion.

  Among these, the transmission response control is a process for managing a download HTTPS session requested (requested) from the communication terminal 5 in order to transmit data from the distribution control system 2 to the communication terminal 5. The response of the download HTTPS session does not end immediately, but is held for a certain time (1 to several minutes). The transmission / reception unit 31 dynamically writes the data to be transmitted to the communication terminal 5 in the body part of the response. In order to eliminate the cost of reconnection, another request is received from the communication terminal before the previous session ends. By making the transmission / reception unit 31 wait until the previous request is completed, the overhead can be deleted even if reconnection is performed.

  The real-time data creation is a process of adding a unique header to the compressed video (and compressed sound) data generated by the encoding unit 19 in FIG. 16 and writing it in the Body part of HTTPS.

  The command transmission is a process for generating command data to be transmitted to the communication terminal 5 and writing it in the Body part of HTTPS to the communication terminal 5.

  The reception response control is a process for managing an HTTPS session requested from the communication terminal 5 in order for the distribution control system 2 to receive data from the communication terminal 5. The response of this HTTPS session does not end immediately, but is held for a certain time (1 to several minutes). The communication terminal 5 dynamically writes the data to be sent to the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 in the Body part of the request.

  The received data analysis is a process of analyzing data sent from the communication terminal 5 for each type and passing the data to a necessary process.

  Gesture conversion is a process of converting a gesture event input by the user into the communication terminal 5f as an electronic blackboard with an electronic pen or handwriting into data in a format that the browser 20 can receive.

  The reception FIFO 34 is a buffer for storing video (sound) data after being decoded by the decoding unit 40.

  The recognition unit 35 performs processing on image (sound) data received from the communication terminal 5. Specifically, the recognition unit 35 recognizes, for example, the face, age, and sex of a person or animal from an image taken by the camera 62 for signage. Further, the recognition unit 35 performs name tagging by face recognition, background image replacement processing, and the like from the image taken by the camera 62 for the office. The recognition unit 35 causes the storage unit 2000 to store recognition information indicating the recognized content. The recognition unit 35 is speeded up by performing processing with a recognition expansion board.

  The delay information acquisition unit 37a is used for downlink channel adaptive control processing corresponding to the delay information acquisition unit 57 used for uplink channel adaptive control processing. Specifically, the delay information acquisition unit 37a acquires transmission delay time information (d1) indicating the transmission delay time d1 from the decoding unit 40, holds the transmission delay time information (d1) for a predetermined time, and stores a plurality of transmission delay time information (d1). Once acquired, transmission delay time information (d) indicating frequency distribution information based on a plurality of transmission delay times d1 is output to the line adaptive control unit 37b.

  The channel adaptation control unit 37b is used for downlink channel adaptation control processing corresponding to the channel adaptation control unit 27 used for uplink channel adaptation control processing. Specifically, the line adaptive control unit 37b calculates the operating condition of the encoding unit 60 based on the transmission delay time information (d). Also, the line adaptation control unit 37b transmits a line adaptation control signal indicating operation conditions such as a frame rate and data resolution to the encoding unit 60 of the communication terminal 5 via the transmission / reception unit 31 and the transmission / reception unit 51.

  The decoding unit 40 decodes image (sound) data transmitted from the communication terminal 5.

(Functional configuration of communication terminal)
Next, the functional configuration of the communication terminal 5 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram mainly showing each function of the communication terminal. The communication terminal 5 is a terminal that serves as an interface for a user to log in to the distribution system 1 or start or stop distribution of video (sound) data.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the communication terminal 5 has each functional configuration shown in FIG. 10 by a hardware configuration and a program such as the CPU 201 shown in FIG. If the communication terminal 5 can communicate with other terminals and systems via the communication network 9 by inserting the dongle 99 as shown in FIG. Each functional configuration shown in FIG. 10 is provided by the hardware configuration and program shown.

  Specifically, the communication terminal 5 includes a decoding unit 50, a transmission / reception unit 51, an operation unit 52, a playback control unit 53, a rendering unit 55, a time control unit 56, a delay information acquisition unit 57, a display unit 58, and an encoding unit 60. Have. Further, the communication terminal 5 has a storage unit 5000 constructed by the RAM 203 shown in FIG. The storage unit 5000 stores time difference information (Δ) indicating a time difference Δ described later, and time information (t) indicating a time t in the communication terminal 5.

  Among these, the decoding unit 50 decodes the video (sound) data distributed from the distribution control system 2 and output from the reproduction control unit 53.

  The transmission / reception unit 51 transmits and receives various data and requests between the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 and the transmission / reception unit 71a of the terminal management system 7 described later. For example, in the login process of the communication terminal 5, the transmission / reception unit 51 makes a login request to the transmission / reception unit 71 of the terminal management system 7 based on the activation of the communication terminal 5 by the operation unit 52.

  The operation unit 52 performs a process of accepting a user's operation input. For example, the operation unit 52 accepts input or selection using a power switch, a keyboard, a mouse, an electronic pen P, and the like, and transmits the operation data to the browser management unit 22 of the distribution control system 2. To do.

  The reproduction control unit 53 buffers the video (sound) data (real-time data packet) received from the transmission / reception unit 51 and outputs it to the decoding unit 50 in consideration of the reproduction delay time U.

  The rendering unit 55 renders the data decoded by the decoding unit 50.

  The time control unit 56 performs time adjustment processing in cooperation with the time acquisition unit 26 of the distribution control system 2. Specifically, the time control unit 56 acquires time information (t) indicating the time t in the communication terminal 5 from the storage unit 5000. The time control unit 56 requests time information (T) indicating the time T in the distribution control system 2 from the time acquisition unit 26 of the distribution control system 2 via the transmission / reception unit 51 and the transmission / reception unit 31. In this case, time information (t) is transmitted together with a request for time information (T).

  The delay information acquisition unit 57 acquires the transmission delay time information (D1) indicating the transmission delay time D1 from the reproduction control unit 53, holds the transmission delay time information for a certain time, and acquires the plurality of transmission delay time information (D1). Transmission delay time information (D) indicating frequency distribution information based on a plurality of transmission delay times D1 is transmitted to the line adaptation control unit 27 via the transmission / reception unit 51 and the transmission / reception unit 31. The transmission delay time information (D) is transmitted once every 100 frames, for example.

  The display unit 58 plays back the data rendered by the rendering unit 55.

The encoding unit 60 includes video (sound) data [E] obtained from the built-in microphone 213, the external camera 62 and the microphone 63 and encoded, and the current time t in the communication terminal 5 obtained from the storage unit 5000. _The time information (t ₀ ) indicating ₀ and the time difference information (Δ) indicating the time difference Δ obtained from the storage unit 5000 are transmitted to the decoding unit 40 of the distribution control system 2 via the transmission / reception unit 51 and the transmission / reception unit 31. To do. In addition, the encoding unit 60 changes the operation condition of the encoding unit 60 based on the operation condition indicated by the channel adaptation control signal received from the channel adaptation control unit 37b. Furthermore, the encoding unit 60 uses the video (sound) data [E] acquired and encoded from the camera 62 and the microphone 63 according to the new operation condition, and the current time t ₀ in the communication terminal 5 acquired from the storage unit 5000. The time information (t ₀ ) indicated and the time difference information (Δ) indicating the time difference Δ acquired from the storage unit 5000 are transmitted to the decoding unit 40 of the distribution control system 2 via the transmission / reception unit 51 and the transmission / reception unit 31.

  The built-in microphone 213, the external camera 62, the microphone 63, and the like are examples of input means and are various devices that require encoding and decoding. The input means may be capable of outputting touch data and smell data in addition to video (sound) data. The input means includes various sensors such as a temperature sensor, a direction sensor, and an acceleration sensor.

(Functional configuration of terminal management system)
Next, the functional configuration of the terminal management system 7 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing each function of the terminal management system.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the terminal management system 7 has each functional configuration shown in FIG. 11 by the hardware configuration and program such as the CPU 201 shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the terminal management system 7 includes a transmission / reception unit 71a, a transmission / reception unit 71b, and an authentication unit 75. Furthermore, the terminal management system 7 has a storage unit 7000 constructed by the HDD 204 shown in FIG. The storage unit 7000 stores distribution destination selection menu data, a terminal management table 7010, and an available terminal management table 7020.

  Among these, the delivery destination selection menu is data indicating a delivery destination selection menu screen as shown in FIG.

  In the terminal management table 7010, as shown in FIG. 13, the terminal ID of the communication terminal 5, the user certificate, the contract information when the user uses the service of the distribution system 1, the terminal type of the communication terminal 5, The setting information indicating the home URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the communication terminal 5, the execution environment information, the shared ID, the installation position information, and the display name information of each communication terminal 5 are managed in association with each other. Among these, the execution environment information includes “favorites”, “previous cookie information”, and “cache file” of each communication terminal 5, and a distribution control system together with setting information after each communication terminal 5 logs in. 2 and used to provide individual services to each communication terminal 5.

  In addition, the sharing ID allows each user to distribute video (sound) data having the same content as the video (sound) data distributed to his / her communication terminal 5 to other communication terminals 5, thereby enabling remote sharing processing. This ID is used when performing the above, and is identification information for identifying another communication terminal or another communication terminal group. For example, the shared ID of the terminal ID “t006” is “v006”, the shared ID of the terminal ID “t007” is “v006”, and the shared ID of the terminal ID “t008” is “v006”. Furthermore, when there is a request for remote sharing processing from the communication terminal 5a with the terminal ID “t001” to the communication terminals (5f1, 5f2, 5f3) with the share ID “v006”, the distribution control system 2 For (5f1, 5f2, 5f3), the same video (sound) data as the video (sound) data being distributed is distributed to the communication terminal 5a. However, when the resolutions of the display units 58 of the communication terminal 5a and the communication terminals (5f1, 5f2, 5f3) are different, the distribution control system 2 distributes video (sound) data accordingly.

  Furthermore, the installation position information indicates the installation position when the communication terminals (5f1, 5f2, 5f3) are installed side by side, for example, as shown in FIG. The display name information is information representing the contents of the display name on the distribution destination selection menu screen shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, in the available terminal management table 7020, for each terminal ID, a shared ID indicating a communication terminal or a communication terminal group that can be remotely shared by the communication terminal 5 indicated by the terminal ID is managed in association with each other. .

  Next, returning to FIG. 11, each functional configuration will be described.

  The transmission / reception unit 71 a transmits and receives various data and requests to and from the communication terminal 5. For example, the transmission / reception unit 71 a receives a login request from the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 or transmits an authentication result of the login request to the transmission / reception unit 51.

  The transmission / reception unit 71b transmits / receives various data and requests to / from the distribution control system 2. For example, the transmission / reception unit 71 b receives a request for data of a distribution destination selection menu from the transmission / reception unit 21 of the distribution control system 2 or transmits data of the distribution destination selection menu to the transmission / reception unit 21.

  The authentication unit 75 searches the terminal management table 7010 based on the terminal ID and user certificate received from the communication terminal 5 to determine whether or not there are the same combination of terminal ID and user certificate. The communication terminal 5 is authenticated.

[Operation or Processing of Embodiment]
Next, the operation or processing of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that these processes are processes executed by the CPUs in the distribution control system 2, the communication terminal 5, the terminal management system 7, and the web server 8 according to programs stored therein.

<Basic delivery processing>
First, a specific distribution process in the basic distribution method shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing basic distribution processing of the distribution control system. Here, a case where a login request is made using the communication terminal 5a will be described, but login may be made using a communication terminal 5 other than the communication terminal 5a.

  As shown in FIG. 17, when the user turns on the power in the communication terminal 5a, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5a makes a login request to the transmission / reception unit 71a of the terminal management system 7 (step S21). Thereby, the transmission / reception part 71a receives a login request. This login request includes the terminal ID of the communication terminal 5a and the user certificate. Therefore, the authentication unit 75 acquires the terminal ID and user certificate of the communication terminal 5a.

  Next, the authentication unit 75 searches the terminal management table 7010 shown in FIG. 13 based on the terminal ID and the user certificate to determine whether or not there are the same combination of terminal ID and user certificate. By determining, authentication of the communication terminal 5a is performed (step S22). Here, a case where the terminal management table 7010 has the same combination of terminal ID and user certificate, that is, a case where the communication terminal 5a is authenticated as a valid terminal in the distribution system 1 will be described below.

  The transmission / reception unit 71a of the terminal management system 7 transmits the IP address of the distribution control system 2 to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5a (step S23). The IP address of the distribution control system 2 is acquired from the distribution control system 2 by the terminal management system 7 and stored in the storage unit 7000 in advance.

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 71b of the terminal management system 7 requests the transmission / reception unit 21 of the distribution control system 2 to activate the browser 20 (step S24). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 21 receives the activation request of the browser 20. And the browser management part 22 starts the browser 20 based on the starting request | requirement received by the transmission / reception part 21 (step S25).

  Next, the creation / selection unit 310 of the encoder bridge unit 30 creates the conversion unit 10 according to the reproduction capability (display resolution, etc.) of the communication terminal 5a and the type of content (step S26). Next, the transmission / reception unit 21 requests the content data [A] from the web server 8 in accordance with the instruction of the browser 20 (step S27). In response to this, the web server 8 reads the requested content data [A] from its own storage unit (not shown) (step S28). Then, the web server 8 transmits the content data [A] to the transmission / reception unit 21 of the distribution control system 2 (step S29).

  Next, the browser 20 renders the content data [A] received by the transmission / reception unit 21, thereby generating each frame data as still image (sound) data and outputting the frame data to the transmission FIFO 24 (step S30). ). Then, the converter 10 encodes each frame data stored in the transmission FIFO 24 to convert it into video (sound) data [A] to be distributed to the communication terminal 5a (step S31).

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits the video (sound) data [A] to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5a (step S32). As a result, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 a receives the video (sound) data [A] and outputs it to the reproduction control unit 53.

  Next, in the communication terminal 5a, the decoding unit 50 acquires the video (sound) data [A] from the reproduction control unit 53 and decodes it (step S33). Thereafter, the speaker 61 reproduces a sound based on the decoded sound data [A], and the display unit 58 is based on the video data [A] obtained by the rendering unit 55 from the decoding unit 50 and rendered. The video is reproduced (step S34).

<Processing of composite delivery using multiple communication terminals>
Subsequently, communication processing using a plurality of communication terminals via the distribution control system will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram showing a distribution process using a plurality of communication terminals via the distribution control system. Here, a specific process is demonstrated about the pattern shown by FIG. 6 as the some communication terminal 5. FIG. In this case as well, since the login process and the browser activation process similar to those in steps S21 to S29 described above are performed, the process corresponding to step S29 described above will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the transmission / reception unit 21 of the distribution control system 2 receives the content data [A] from the web server 8 (step S41). Then, the browser 20 renders the content data [A] to generate each frame data as still image (sound) data, and outputs it to the transmission FIFO 24 (step S42).

  On the other hand, when the encoding unit 60 of the communication terminal 5f1 receives input of content data as video (sound) data [E] from the camera 62 and the microphone 63 (step S43), the encoding unit 60 encodes the content data [E]. (Step S44). The transmission / reception unit 51 transmits the content data [E] encoded by the encoding unit 60 to the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 (step S45). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 receives the content data [E].

  Next, the decoding unit 40 of the distribution control system 2 decodes the content data [E] received by the transmission / reception unit 31 and outputs the decoded content data [E] to the reception FIFO 34 (step S46). The browser 20 renders the content data [E] stored in the reception FIFO 34 to generate frame data [E] as still image (sound) data, and outputs the frame data [E] to the transmission FIFO 24 (step). S47). In this case, the browser 20 outputs a layout in which the content data [E] is combined with the already acquired content data [A].

  Further, when the operation unit 52 of the communication terminal 5f1 receives an input of a stroke operation by the electronic pen P1 (step S48), the transmission / reception unit 51 operates data [p] indicating the content of the stroke operation received by the operation unit 52. Is transmitted to the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 (step S49). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 receives the operation data [p]. Then, the browser management unit 22 outputs the operation data [p] received by the transmission / reception unit 31 to the browser 20.

  Next, the browser 20 renders the operation data [p] to generate frame data [p] as still image (sound) data, and outputs the frame data [p] to the transmission FIFO 24 (step S50). In this case, the browser 20 outputs a layout in which the operation data [p] is combined with the already acquired content data ([A], [E]).

  Next, the conversion unit 10 encodes each frame data ([A], [E], [p]) as still image (sound) data stored in the transmission FIFO 24 to distribute to the communication terminal 5a. The video (sound) data ([A], [E], [p]) to be converted is converted (step S51).

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 31 acquires the encoded video (sound) data ([A], [E], [p]) from the encoder bridge unit 30 including the conversion unit 10, and transmits / receives the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5f1. (Step S52-1). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5f1 receives the video (sound) data ([A], [E], [p]), and the reproduction control unit 53 of the communication terminal 5f1 receives the video (sound) from the transmission / reception unit 5f1. ) Data ([A], [E], [p]) is acquired. In the communication terminal 5f1, the decoding unit 50 acquires the video (sound) data ([A], [E], [p]) from the reproduction control unit 53 and decodes it (step S53-1). Thereafter, the speaker 61 reproduces sound based on the decoded sound data ([A], [E]), and the display unit 58 obtains and renders the video data obtained from the decoding unit 50 by the rendering unit 55 and rendered. (Video is reproduced based on [A], [E], [p] (step S54-1).

  Also for the communication terminal 5f2, similarly to step S52-1, the transmission / reception unit 31 receives the encoded video (sound) data ([A], [E], [p]) from the encoder bridge unit 30. It acquires and transmits to the transmission / reception part 51 of the communication terminal 5f2 (step S52-2). Thereby, the reproduction control unit 53 of the communication terminal 5f2 acquires video (sound) data ([A], [E], [p]). In the communication terminal 5f1, the decoding unit 50 acquires the video (sound) data ([A], [E], [p]) from the reproduction control unit 53 and decodes it (step S53-2). Thereafter, the speaker 61 reproduces sound based on the decoded sound data ([A], [E]), and the display unit 58 obtains and renders the video data obtained from the decoding unit 50 by the rendering unit 55 and rendered. (Video is reproduced based on [A], [E], [p] (step S54-2).

  As described above, the same video (sound) as the video (sound) output from the communication terminal 5f1 is also output from the communication terminal 5f2.

<Time adjustment processing>
Next, the time adjustment process will be described.

19 and 20 are diagrams for explaining errors to be considered in the time adjustment process. For example, when performing smooth playback of video (sound) data or synchronized playback on multiple displays, each communication terminal 5 needs to know the time difference Δ from the distribution control system 2. Here, when it is assumed that the communication speed of the uplink and the communication speed of the downlink are the same between the communication terminal 5 and the distribution control system 2, as shown by the solid arrow in FIG. The time at which the specific request is transmitted to the distribution control system 2 is time (t _s ), the time specified by the distribution control system 2 in response to this request is the time (T _rs ), and the communication terminal 5 is specified by the distribution control system 2. _Assuming that the time when the received time (T _rs ) is received is the time (t _c ), the time difference Δ between the communication terminal 5 and the distribution control system 2 can be obtained by the following Equation 1. The time (t _c ) (= (t _s + t _r ) / 2) calculated by the communication terminal 5 corresponds to the time at the communication terminal 5 when the time (T _rs ) is specified by the distribution control system 2. doing.
Δ = T _rs −t _c = T _rs − (t _s + _tr ) / 2 (Expression 1)

However, as in the Internet environment, for example, there are cases where the uplink communication speed and the downlink communication speed are different between the communication terminal 5 and the distribution control system 2. In such a case, as indicated by the broken line in FIG. 19, the time (t ′ _c ) at the communication terminal 5 when the time (T ′ _rs ) is specified by the distribution control system 2 is the transmission time (t _s ). And the time (t _c ) calculated by the communication terminal 5 from the reception time (t _r ). In such a case, an error (t ′ _c −t _c ) occurs in the time difference Δ detected by the communication terminal 5.

  FIG. 20 shows an example when an error occurs. In FIG. 20, the bandwidth ratio (hereinafter referred to as bandwidth ratio) between the uplink from communication terminal 5 to distribution system 2 and the downlink from distribution system 2 to communication terminal 5 is 1: 2. Is illustrated.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 20, it is assumed that the time (t _s ) when the time specification request is transmitted from the communication terminal 5 to the distribution control system 2 is 100, and the time in the distribution control system 2 at that time is 850. The time (T ′ _rs ) specified by the distribution control system 2 in response to the specific request is 1050, and the time (t ′ _c ) at the communication terminal 5 at that time is 300 milliseconds (hereinafter, the unit is omitted). Suppose that Further, the time (t _r ) when the communication terminal 5 receives the time (t ′ _rs ) specified from the distribution control system 2 is set to 400, and the time in the distribution control system 2 at that time is set to 1150.

From the time (T ′ _rs ) = 1050 specified by the distribution control system 2 in response to the specific request and the time (t ′ _c ) = 300 at the communication terminal 5 at that time, the communication terminal 5, the distribution control system 2, The correct time difference Δ between is 750 (= 1050−300). However, under the assumption that the uplink communication speed is equal to the downlink communication speed between the communication terminal 5 and the distribution control system 2, the transmission time (t _s ) = 100 and the reception time (t _r ) = The time (t _c ) calculated by the communication terminal 5 from 400 is 250. Therefore, the time difference Δ calculated simply using the time (T ′ _rs ) 1050 specified by the distribution control system 2 and the time (t _c ) calculated by the communication terminal 5 is 800, and the correct time difference Δ = There are 50 errors for 750.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, an index indicating the uplink band state and an index indicating the downlink band state are specified, and a more accurate time difference Δ is obtained based on the ratio of the specified indexes. FIG. 21 shows an example of a method for specifying an index representing a band state. In the example shown in FIG. 21, the uplink bandwidth is 10 Kbytes / second, and the downlink bandwidth is 20 Kbytes / second.

As shown in FIG. 21, in specifying the index indicating the band state, dummy data having different sizes is transmitted / received between the uplink and the downlink. As a specific example, first, as a first process, 1000 bytes of dummy data is transmitted from the communication terminal 5 to the distribution control system 2 on the uplink, and 100 bytes of dummy data is transmitted from the distribution control system 2 to the communication terminal 5 on the downlink. Send data. The timing at which the delivery control system 2 transmits 100-byte dummy data may be the timing at which the 1000-byte dummy data has been received from the communication terminal 5. Here, the time (t _s ) at which the communication terminal 5 transmits 1000-byte dummy data to the distribution control system 2 is 1000, and the time (t _r ) at which the communication terminal 5 receives 100-byte dummy data from the distribution control system 2 is 1000. Assuming 1105, the time required for this series of transmission and reception is 105.

Next, as a second process, 100-byte dummy data is transmitted from the communication terminal 5 to the distribution control system 2 on the uplink, and 1000-byte dummy data is transmitted from the distribution control system 2 to the communication terminal 5 on the downlink. . The timing at which the distribution control system 2 transmits 1000-byte dummy data may be the timing at which the reception of 100-byte dummy data from the communication terminal 5 is completed, as described above. Here, the time (t _s ) at which the communication terminal 5 transmits the 100-byte dummy data to the distribution control system 2 is 2000, and the time (t _r ) at which the communication terminal 5 receives the 1000-byte dummy data from the distribution control system 2. Assuming 2060, the time required for this series of transmission and reception is 60.

  The amount of data transmitted and received in the first process and the second process is both 1100 bytes. However, the time required from the start of transmission to the completion of reception differs as described above. This is because the line speed is different between the uplink and the downlink. For this reason, the time required from the start of transmission to the completion of reception can be used as an index representing the bandwidth state of each line. Note that this index indicates that the greater the value, the narrower the bandwidth.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 21, the index indicating the bandwidth state of the uplink is 105, and the index indicating the bandwidth state of the downlink is 60. Therefore, the ratio of the uplink and downlink indices (hereinafter referred to as the index ratio) can be expressed as uplink: downlink = 105: 60. This index ratio (105: 60) is close to the ratio of the reciprocal number (2: 1 = 1/10/10/20) of the uplink line rate = 10 Kbytes / second and the downlink line rate = 20 Kbytes / second. This indicates that it is effective to use the time required from the start of transmission to the completion of reception as an index representing the bandwidth state.

  Next, the time adjustment process including the identification of the index will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 22, first, the time control unit 56 of the communication terminal 5 acquires time information (ts1) in the communication terminal 5 from the storage unit 5000 when transmitting the dummy data d1 in order to specify the index ( Step S501). Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 transmits the dummy data d1 to the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution system 2 (step S502). On the other hand, when the reception of the dummy data d1 is completed, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits the dummy data D1 to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 (step S503). On the other hand, the time control unit 56 of the communication terminal 5 acquires the time (tr1) at the time when the reception of the dummy data D1 is completed from the storage unit 5000 (step S504). The dummy data d1 is assumed to be sufficiently larger than the dummy data D1.

  Next, the communication terminal 5 and the distribution control system 2 execute the same process by switching the magnitude relationship of dummy data transmitted and received between the uplink and the downlink. Specifically, the time control unit 56 acquires time information (ts2) in the communication terminal 5 from the storage unit 5000 (step S511), and the transmission / reception unit 51 transmits the dummy data d2 to the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution system 2 ( Step S512). On the other hand, when the reception of the dummy data d2 is completed, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits the dummy data D2 to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 (step S513). On the other hand, the time control unit 56 of the communication terminal 5 acquires the time (tr2) at the time when the reception of the dummy data D2 is completed from the storage unit 5000 (step S514). The dummy data D2 is data sufficiently larger than the dummy data d2.

  As described above, when the magnitude relationship between the dummy data transmitted and received on the uplink and the downlink is switched, the transmission start time information (ts1, ts2) and the reception completion time information (tr1, tr2) are acquired. The time control unit 56 of the communication terminal 5 uses these to calculate the index ratio (Bu: Bd = (tr1-ts1) :( tr2-ts2)) between the uplink and the downlink (step S515). Note that Bu indicates an uplink bandwidth index, and Bd indicates a downlink bandwidth index.

Next, the time control unit 56 of the communication terminal 5 acquires the time information in the communication terminal 5 from the storage unit 5000 in order to acquire the time indicating the time when the transmission / reception unit 51 requests time information (T) from the distribution control system 2. _{(t s)} to get (step S81). And the transmission / reception part 51 requests | requires the time information (T) in the delivery control system 2 from the transmission / reception part 31 (step S82). In this case, the time information (t _s ) is transmitted together with a request for time information (T).

Next, the time acquisition unit 26 of the distribution control system 2 acquires time information (T in the distribution control system 2 from the time management unit 25 in order to acquire a time indicating the time when the transmission / reception unit 31 receives the request in step S82. _r ) is acquired (step S83). Furthermore, the time acquisition unit 26 acquires time information (T _s ) in the distribution control system 2 from the time management unit 25 in order to acquire a time indicating a time point when the transmission / reception unit 31 responds to the request in step S82 ( Step S84). Then, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits time information (t _s , T _r , T _s ) to the transmission / reception unit 51 (step S85).

Next, the time control unit 56 of the communication terminal 5 obtains the time information (t _r ) in the communication terminal 5 from the storage unit 5000 in order to acquire the time indicating the time when the transmission / reception unit 51 received the response in step S85. Obtain (step S86).

  Then, the time control unit 56 of the communication terminal 5 calculates the time difference Δ between the distribution control system 2 and the communication terminal 5 in consideration of the index ratio calculated in step S515 (step S87). This time difference Δ is expressed by the following equation 2.

Δ = ((T _r + T _s ) / 2) − ((Bu × t _r + Bd × t _s ) / (Bu + Bd)) (Expression 2)
Then, the time control unit 56 stores time difference information (Δ) indicating the time difference Δ in the storage unit 5000 (step S88). This series of time adjustment processes is performed periodically, for example, every minute.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the time difference Δ calculated by applying the index ratio (105: 60) specified in the example of FIG. 21 to the example shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 23, time (t _s ) = 100, time (t _r ) = 400, time (T ′ _rs ) = 1050, uplink bandwidth index Bu = 105, downlink bandwidth index Assuming that Bd = 60, the time difference Δ is calculated as approximately 759 (= (850 + 1150) / 2 − ((105 × 400 + 60 × 100) / (105 + 60)) from Equation 2 above. = Approx. 759) is a value close to the correct time difference (750), indicating that the above-described method for calculating the time difference Δ is effective.

Note that steps S501 to S515 in FIG. 22 may be executed when it is assumed that the bandwidth ratio between the uplink and the downlink, such as the Internet, is not 1: 1. That is, if the bandwidth ratio between the uplink and the downlink is 1: 1 or can be assumed, steps S501 to S515 in FIG. 22 can be omitted. In that case, in step S87, the time difference Δ is calculated using the following Equation 3.
Δ = ((T _r + T _s ) / 2) − ((t _r + t _s ) / 2) (Expression 3)

<Process of downlink adaptive control>
Next, a description will be given of the channel adaptive control processing of (downlink) data transmitted from the distribution control system 2 to the communication terminal 5 with reference to FIG. FIG. 24 is a sequence diagram showing a process of line adaptive control of data transmitted from the distribution control system to the communication terminal.

  First, the line adaptation control unit 27 of the distribution control system 2 sets the reproduction delay time U for delaying the reproduction by buffering the reproduction control unit 53 of the communication terminal 5 until the reproduction of the video (sound) data. The reproduction delay time information (U) shown is calculated and output to the encoder bridge unit 30 (step S101).

Next, the transmission / reception unit 31 acquires the reproduction delay time information (U) from the encoder bridge unit 30, and transmits the reproduction delay time information (U) to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 (step S102). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 receives the reproduction delay time information (U). In addition, the encoder bridge unit 30 performs time information indicating a time T ₀ indicating the time point acquired from the time management unit 25 with respect to the video (sound) data [A] acquired from the transmission FIFO 24 and encoded. T ₀ ) is added as a time stamp (step S103). Then, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits video (sound) data and time information (T ₀ ) of the distribution control system 2 to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 (step S104). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 receives the video (sound) data and the time information (T ₀ ) of the distribution control system 2, and the reproduction control unit 53 receives the video (sound) data and the time information (T ₀ ). Is output.

Next, in the communication terminal 5, the playback control unit 53 stores the playback delay time information (U) acquired in step S102, the time information (T ₀ ) acquired in step S104, and the storage unit 5000 in step S88. By waiting until the time (T ₀ + U−Δ) in the communication terminal 5 is reached based on the stored time difference information (Δ), the video (sound) data acquired in step S104 is output to the decoding unit 50. Then, the sound is reproduced from the speaker 61, and the video is reproduced from the display unit 58 via the rendering unit 55 (step S105). As a result, only the video (sound) data received by the communication terminal 5 is reproduced within the range of the reproduction delay time U shown in the following equation 4, and the video (sound) data outside the range is too delayed. Therefore, it is erased without being reproduced.

U ≧ (t ₀ + Δ) −T ₀ (Equation 4)
Further, the reproduction control unit 53 reads the current time t ₀ in the communication terminal 5 from the storage unit 5000 (step S106). This time t ₀ indicates the time at the communication terminal 5 when the communication terminal 5 receives the video (sound) data from the distribution control system 2. Furthermore, the reproduction control unit 53 reads time difference information (Δ) indicating the time difference Δ stored in step S86 from the storage unit 5000 (step S107). Then, the reproduction control unit 53 calculates a transmission delay time D1 indicating the time from when the video (sound) data is transmitted from the distribution control system 2 until it is received by the communication terminal 5 (step S108). This calculation is performed according to the following Expression 5, and when the communication network 9 is congested, the transmission delay time D1 becomes long.

D1 = (t ₀ + Δ) −T ₀ (Expression 5)
Next, the delay information acquisition unit 57 acquires the transmission delay time information (D1) indicating the transmission delay time D1 from the reproduction control unit 53, holds it for a certain time, and acquires a plurality of transmission delay time information (D1). The transmission delay time information (D) indicating the frequency distribution information based on the plurality of transmission delay times D1 is output to the transmission / reception unit 51 (step S109). And the transmission / reception part 51 transmits transmission delay time information (D) to the transmission / reception part 31 of the delivery control system 2 (step S110). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 receives the transmission delay time information (D) and outputs the transmission delay time information (D) to the line adaptation control unit 27.

  Next, the line adaptation control unit 27 of the distribution control system 2 newly calculates the reproduction delay information U ′ based on the transmission delay time information (D), the frame rate of the conversion unit 10, the data resolution, etc. The operating conditions are calculated and output to the encoder bridge unit 30 (step S111).

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 31 acquires reproduction delay time information (U ′) indicating the new reproduction delay time U ′ calculated in step S111 from the encoder bridge unit 30 and transmits the reproduction delay time information (U ′) to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5. Playback delay time information (U ′) is transmitted (step S112). Accordingly, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 receives the reproduction delay time information (U ′).

Furthermore, the conversion unit 10 in the encode bridge unit 30 changes the operation condition of the conversion unit 10 based on the line adaptive control signal indicating the operation condition (step S113). For example, when the transmission delay time D1 is too long, if the reproduction delay time U is lengthened in accordance with the transmission delay time D1, the reproduction time on the speaker 61 or the display unit 58 becomes too late, so the reproduction delay time U is lengthened. Has its limits. Therefore, the line adaptive control unit 27 not only changes the reproduction delay time U to the encoder bridge unit 30 to obtain the reproduction delay time U ′, but also provides the conversion unit 10 with a frame of video (sound) data. The congestion of the communication network 9 is dealt with by lowering the rate or lowering the resolution of the video (sound) data. As a result, the encoder bridge unit 30 adds the current time information (T ₀ ) as a time stamp to the video (sound) data [A], as in step S103, according to the changed operating condition ( Step S104). Then, video (sound) data is added (step S114). Then, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits video (sound) data and time information (T ₀ ) of the distribution control system 2 to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 (step S115). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 receives the video (sound) data and the time information (T ₀ ) of the distribution control system 2, and the reproduction control unit 53 receives the video (sound) data and the time information (T ₀ ). Is output.

Next, in the communication terminal 5, the reproduction control unit 53 uses the reproduction delay time information (U ′) acquired in step S112, the time information (T ₀ ) acquired in step S115, and the storage unit 5000 in step S88. Based on the time difference information (Δ) stored in step S105, after waiting until the time (T ₀ + U′−Δ) in the communication terminal 5 is reached, the video (sound) data is output to the decoding unit 50, whereby step S105 is performed. As described above, the sound is reproduced from the speaker 61, and the video is reproduced from the display unit 58 via the rendering unit 55 (step S116). Thereafter, the processing after step S106 is continued. In this way, the downlink channel adaptive control process is continuously performed.

<Processing of uplink adaptive control>
Next, the processing for line adaptive control of (uplink) data transmitted from the communication terminal 5 to the distribution control system 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 24 is a sequence diagram showing a process of line adaptive control of data transmitted from the communication terminal to the distribution control system.

First, the encoding unit 60 of the communication terminal 5 encodes content data as video (sound) data [E] input from the camera 62 and the microphone 63 (step S121). At this time, the encoding unit 60 acquires the time information (t ₀ ) indicating the time t ₀ in the current communication terminal 5 and the time difference information (Δ) indicating the time difference Δ from the storage unit 5000. , Do not encode. Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 transmits the video (sound) data [E], time information (t ₀ ), and time difference information (Δ) to the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 (step S122). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 receives the video (sound) data [E], the time information (t ₀ ), and the time difference information (Δ).

Then, the distribution control system 2, the decoding unit 40 reads the time management unit 25 a time T ₀ that indicates the time of receiving the like (sound) data [E] at Step S122 (Step S123). Then, the decoding unit 40 calculates a transmission delay time d1 indicating the time from when the video (sound) data is transmitted from the communication terminal 5 to be received by the distribution control system 2 (step S124). This calculation is performed according to the following Equation 6, and when the communication network 9 is congested, the transmission delay time d1 becomes longer.

d1 = T ₀ − (t ₀ + Δ) (Expression 6)
Next, similarly to the delay information acquisition unit 57, the delay information acquisition unit 37a of the distribution control system 2 acquires transmission delay time information (d1) indicating the transmission delay time d1 from the decoding unit 40 and holds it for a certain period of time. When a plurality of transmission delay time information (d1) is obtained, transmission delay time information (d) indicating frequency distribution information based on the plurality of transmission delay times d1 is output to the line adaptation control unit 37b (step S125).

  Next, the line adaptation control unit 37b calculates the operating condition of the encoding unit 60 based on the transmission delay time information (d) (step S126). Then, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits a line adaptation control signal indicating operation conditions such as a frame rate and data resolution to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 (step S127). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 receives the line adaptation control signal. That is, in the case of the line adaptive control (downlink) shown in FIG. 24, the line adaptive control signal is output to the encoder bridge unit 30 in the same distribution control system 2, whereas the line adaptive control signal shown in FIG. In the case of existing line adaptive control (uplink), a line adaptive control signal is transmitted from the distribution control system 2 to the communication terminal 5 via the communication network 9.

Next, the encoding unit 60 changes the operating condition of the encoding unit 60 based on the operating condition indicated by the line adaptive control signal received by the transmitting / receiving unit 51 (step S128). Then, the encoding unit 60 performs the same process as in the above step S121 according to the new operation condition (step S129). Then, the transmission / reception unit 51 sends the encoded video (sound) data [E] acquired from the camera 62 and the microphone 63 to the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 and the storage unit 5000 as in step S122. The time information (t ₀ ) indicating the time t ₀ at the current communication terminal 5 acquired from the time and the time difference information (Δ) indicating the time difference Δ acquired from the storage unit 5000 are transmitted (step S130). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 receives the video (sound) data [E], the time information (t ₀ ), and the time difference information (Δ). Thereafter, the processing after step S123 is continued. In this way, the uplink channel adaptive control process is continuously performed.

<Multi-display processing>
Next, multi-display processing will be described with reference to FIGS. 26 to 28 are sequence diagrams showing the multi-display process shown in FIG.

  In this example, the video (sound) [XYZ] reproduced on the communication terminal 5a is also divided and reproduced on each communication terminal (5f1, 5f2, 5f3).

  Further, here, the browser 20 for displaying web content is indicated as “browser 20a”, and the browser 20 for displaying a setting screen for the user is indicated as “browser 20b”. Furthermore, the processing corresponding to step S30 in FIG. 17 will be described here.

  First, the browser 20a of the distribution control system 2 generates each frame data as still image (sound) data by rendering the web content data [XYZ] acquired from the web server 8, and outputs the frame data to the transmission FIFO 24. (Step S201). Then, the converter 10 encodes each frame data stored in the transmission FIFO 24 to convert it into video (sound) data [XYZ] in a data format that can be distributed to the communication terminal 5a (step S202).

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits the video (sound) data [XYZ] converted by the conversion unit 10 to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5a (step S203). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 a receives the video (sound) data [XYZ] and outputs it to the reproduction control unit 53.

  Next, in the communication terminal 5a, the decoding unit 50 acquires the video (sound) data [XYZ] from the reproduction control unit 53 and decodes it (step S204). Thereafter, the speaker 61 reproduces a sound based on the decoded sound data [XYZ], and the display unit 58 is based on the video data [XYZ] obtained and rendered by the rendering unit 55 from the decoding unit 50. The video is reproduced (step S205).

  Next, the user of the communication terminal 5a switches the screen displayed on the display unit 58 to a menu request screen (not shown), and the operation unit 52 displays a “delivery destination selection menu” (not shown) in the menu request screen. A button press is accepted (step S206). Thereby, the transmission / reception part 51 transmits the switch request | requirement to a delivery destination selection menu to the transmission / reception part 71a of the terminal management system 7 (step S207). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 71a of the terminal management system 7 receives the request for switching to the distribution destination selection menu. This request includes the terminal ID of the communication terminal 5a.

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 71b transmits an activation request for the browser 20b to the transmission / reception unit 21 of the distribution control system 2 (step S208). As a result, the transmission / reception unit 21 of the distribution control system 2 receives the activation request for the browser 20b and makes an activation request for the browser 20b to the browser management unit 22.

  Next, the browser management unit 22 activates the browser 20b (step S209). Then, the creation / selection unit 310 of the encoder bridge unit 30 switches the output from the browser 20a to the conversion unit 10 (for example, the conversion unit 10a) to the output from the browser 20b to the conversion unit 10 (for example, the conversion unit 10b). (Step S210). However, when the communication terminal 5a shares the conversion unit 10 (for example, the conversion unit 10a) with another communication terminal 5 (for example, the communication terminal 5b) and receives the video (sound) data in the above step S203. Since the other communication terminal 5 (for example, the communication terminal 5b) is using the conversion unit 10 (for example, the conversion unit 10a) for the browser 20a, the creation / selection unit 310 of the encoder bridge unit 30 performs a new conversion. The unit 10 (for example, the conversion unit 10b) is created.

  And the transmission / reception part 21 transmits a delivery destination selection menu request | requirement to the transmission / reception part 71b of the terminal management system 7 according to the instruction | indication of the browser 20b (step S211). At this time, the terminal ID of the communication terminal 5a is also transmitted. Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 71b of the terminal management system 7 receives the distribution destination selection menu request and outputs the terminal ID of the communication terminal 5a to the storage unit 7000.

  In response to this, the storage unit 7000 of the terminal management system 7 searches the available terminal management table 7020 based on this terminal ID to extract the corresponding shared ID (step S212). This shared ID indicates the communication terminal 5 that can be used by the communication terminal 5a for remote common processing. Here, as shown in FIG. 14, since the terminal ID of the communication terminal 5a is “t001”, the extracted shared IDs are “v003” and “v006”.

  Further, the storage unit 7000 searches the terminal management table 7010 based on the extracted shared ID, thereby extracting display name information indicating the corresponding display name (step S213). Here, as shown in FIG. 13, the display names corresponding to the extracted shared IDs “v003” and “v006” are “Tokyo head office 10F MFP” and “Osaka exhibition hall 1F multi-display”, respectively. .

  Then, the transmission / reception unit 71b transmits distribution destination selection menu data [M] as content data to the transmission / reception unit 21 of the distribution control system 2 (step S214). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 21 of the distribution control system 2 receives the distribution destination selection menu data [M] and outputs it to the browser 20b. As shown in FIG. 12, the distribution destination selection menu [M] includes a check box, a shared ID, and a display name.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 27, the browser 20b renders the content data indicating the distribution destination selection menu [M] acquired from the terminal management system 7, thereby making each image as still image (sound) data. Frame data is generated and output to the transmission FIFO 24 (step S221). Then, the converter 10 encodes the image (sound) data [M] stored in the transmission FIFO 24 to convert it into video (sound) data [M] in a data format that can be distributed to the communication terminal 5a ( Step S222).

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits the video (sound) data [M] after being converted by the conversion unit 10 to the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5a (step S223). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 a receives the video (sound) data [M] and outputs it to the reproduction control unit 53.

  Next, in the communication terminal 5a, the decoding unit 50 acquires the video (sound) data [M] from the reproduction control unit 53 and decodes it (step S224). Thereafter, the display unit 58 reproduces the video as shown in FIG. 12 based on the video data [XYZ] obtained and rendered by the rendering unit 55 from the decoding unit 50 (step S225).

  Next, in the distribution destination selection menu shown in FIG. 12, when the user checks the check box of the shared ID “v006” and presses the “OK” button, the operation unit 52 causes the user to perform an operation. An input is accepted (step S226).

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 51 transmits the check result as operation data to the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 (step S227). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 31 of the distribution control system 2 receives the check result as operation data and outputs it to the browser 20b.

  Next, the browser 20b selects a shared ID from the check result (step S228). Then, the transmission / reception unit 21 transmits a distribution destination addition request to the transmission / reception unit 71b of the terminal management system 7 according to the instruction of the browser 20b (step S229). This distribution destination addition request includes the shared ID selected in step S227. Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 71b of the terminal management system 7 receives the distribution destination addition request and outputs the shared ID to the storage unit 7000. Then, the browser 20b finishes its role and ends (step S230). Thereby, the creation / selection unit 310 of the encoder bridge unit 30 switches the output from the browser 20b to the conversion unit 10 so as to return to the output from the browser 20a to the conversion unit 10 (step S231).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 28, the storage unit 7000 of the terminal management system 7 responds by searching the terminal management table 7010 based on the shared ID sent in step S229. Terminal ID and installation position information are extracted (step S241). Then, the transmission / reception unit 71b transmits a distribution destination addition instruction to the transmission / reception unit 21 of the distribution control system 2 (step S242). This distribution destination addition instruction includes the terminal ID and installation position information extracted in step S241. As a result, the transmission / reception unit 21 of the distribution control system 2 receives the distribution destination addition instruction and outputs the distribution destination addition instruction to the browser management unit 22. Here, the terminal ID and installation position information are “t006” and “left”, the terminal ID and installation position information are “t007” and “middle”, and the terminal ID and installation position information are “t008” and “right”. The three sets of terminal IDs and installation position information are included.

  Next, the creation / selection unit 310 of the encoder bridge unit 30 creates the conversion unit 10 for multi-display (step S243). In this case, the creation / selection unit 310 of the encoder bridge unit 30 acquires the terminal ID and the installation position information from the browser management unit 22.

  Then, the dividing unit 13 of the converting unit 10 created in step S243 divides each frame data [XYZ] as still image (sound) data stored in the transmission FIFO 24, and the encoding unit 19 Each frame data thus encoded is encoded (step S244).

  Then, the transmission / reception unit 31 transmits / receives the video (sound) data [X] encoded by the encoder bridge unit 30 based on the terminal ID (“t006”) and the installation position information (“left”). It transmits to the part 51 (step S245-1). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5f1 receives the video (sound) data [X] and outputs it to the reproduction control unit 53.

  Next, in the communication terminal 5f1, the decoding unit 50 acquires the video (sound) data [X] from the reproduction control unit 53 and decodes it (step S246-1). Thereafter, the speaker 61 reproduces a sound based on the decoded sound data [X], and the display unit 58 is based on the video data [X] obtained by the rendering unit 55 from the decoding unit 50 and rendered. The video is reproduced (step S247-1).

  Similarly, the transmission / reception unit 31 communicates the video (sound) data [Y] encoded by the encoder bridge unit 30 based on the terminal ID (“t007”) and the installation position information (“middle”). It transmits to the transmission / reception part 51 of the terminal 5f2 (step S245-2). Thereby, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5 f 2 receives the video (sound) data [Y] and outputs it to the reproduction control unit 53.

  Next, in the communication terminal 5f2, the decoding unit 50 acquires the video (sound) data [Y] from the reproduction control unit 53 and decodes it (step S246-2). Thereafter, the speaker 61 reproduces sound based on the decoded sound data [Y], and the display unit 58 is based on the video data [Y] acquired and rendered from the decoding unit 50 by the rendering unit 55. The video is reproduced (step S247-2).

  Further, similarly, the transmission / reception unit 31 communicates the video (sound) data “Z” encoded by the encoder bridge unit 30 based on the terminal ID (“t008”) and the installation position information (“right”). It transmits to the transmission / reception part 51 of the terminal 5f3 (step S245-3). As a result, the transmission / reception unit 51 of the communication terminal 5f3 receives the video (sound) data [Z] and outputs it to the reproduction control unit 53.

  Next, in the communication terminal 5f3, the decoding unit 50 acquires the video (sound) data [Z] from the reproduction control unit 53 and decodes it (step S246-3). Thereafter, the speaker 61 reproduces sound based on the decoded sound data [Z], and the display unit 58 is based on the video data [Z] obtained and rendered by the rendering unit 55 from the decoding unit 50. The video is reproduced (step S247-3).

[Main effects of the embodiment]
As described above in detail with specific examples, the distribution system 1 of the present embodiment includes the browser 20 that performs rendering on the cloud and the encoder bridge unit 30 that performs encoding and the like on the cloud. Thereby, the browser 20 generates each frame data as still image (sound) data based on the content data indicated in a predetermined description language, and the encoder bridge unit 30 can distribute each frame data through the communication network 2. Convert to video (sound) data. Thereafter, the distribution control system 2 distributes video (sound) data to the communication terminal 5. Therefore, on the communication terminal 5 side, it is possible to smoothly reproduce the web content without updating the browser of the terminal itself or increasing the time and expense of increasing the specifications of the CPU, OS, RAM, and the like. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that the load on the communication terminal 5 increases due to content enrichment.

  In particular, the browser 20 enables real-time communication, and the conversion unit 10 performs real-time encoding on the frame data generated by the browser 20. Thus, for example, unlike a case where a DVD player selects and distributes video (sound) data having no real-time property (that is, encoded in advance), such as on-demand distribution of video (sound) data, the distribution is different. Since the control system 2 generates and encodes the frame data by rendering the content acquired immediately before distribution, it can distribute video (sound) data with excellent real-time characteristics.

[Supplementary explanation]
In the distribution system 1 of the present embodiment, the terminal management system 7 and the distribution control system 2 are configured as separate systems. For example, by providing the distribution control system 2 with the function of the terminal management system 7, The terminal management system 7 and the distribution control system 2 may be configured as an integrated device.

  Further, the distribution control system 2 and the terminal management system 7 in the above embodiment may be constructed by a single computer, or a plurality of units arbitrarily assigned by dividing each unit (function, means, or storage unit). It may be constructed by a computer.

  Furthermore, any recording medium such as a CD-ROM or HDD in which the programs of the above-described embodiments are recorded can be provided as a program product (Japan or overseas).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Distribution system 2 Distribution control system 5 Communication terminal 7 Terminal management system 8 Web server 9 Communication network 10 Conversion part (an example of conversion means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Trimming part 12 Resize part 13 Blending part 14 Encoding part 20 Browser (an example of a production | generation means)
21 Transmission / Reception Unit 22 Browser Management Unit 23 Cloud Browser 24 Transmission FIFO Buffer 30 Encoder Bridge Unit 31 Transmission / Reception Unit (Example of Transmission Means)
52 Operation unit (an example of operation means)
310 Creation / Selection Unit (an example of creation means)

JP 2007-212229 A

Claims (6)

A communication system including a server and a communication terminal connected via a network,
The communication terminal uses the uplink based on the time required to transmit / receive first data having different sizes in the uplink from the communication terminal to the server and the downlink from the server to the communication terminal. And the downlink bandwidth ratio, and the time difference with respect to the server is identified based on the identified bandwidth ratio and the time information when the second data is transmitted to and received from the server. A communication system. The first data includes third data, fourth data smaller than the third data, fifth data, and sixth data larger than the fifth data,
The communication terminal acquires the first time when the third data is transmitted to the server and the transmission of the third data is started,
The server transmits the fourth data to the communication terminal when the reception of the third data is completed,
The communication terminal acquires a second time when reception of the fourth data is completed,
The communication terminal transmits the fifth data to the server and obtains a third time at which transmission of the fifth data is started,
The server transmits the sixth data to the communication terminal when the reception of the fifth data is completed,
The communication terminal acquires a fourth time when reception of the sixth data is completed,
The communication terminal specifies a first time required to transmit and receive the third and fourth data from the first and second times, and the fifth time from the third time and the fourth time. And a second time required to transmit / receive the sixth data, and a ratio of the bandwidth between the uplink and the downlink based on the first and second times. The communication system according to claim 1. The second data includes seventh and eighth data,
The communication terminal acquires the fifth time when the seventh data is transmitted to the server and the transmission of the seventh data is started,
When the reception of the seventh data is completed, the server acquires a sixth time when the reception of the seventh data is completed, and transmits the eighth data including the information of the sixth time to the communication terminal Send to
The communication terminal obtains a seventh time when reception of the eighth data is completed;
The communication system according to claim 2, wherein the communication terminal specifies a time difference with respect to the server from the bandwidth ratio and the specified fifth to seventh times.   The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the network is the Internet. A time difference identification method executed in a communication terminal connected to a server via a network,
Identifying the time required to transmit / receive first data of different sizes on the uplink from the communication terminal to the server and the downlink from the server to the communication terminal;
Identifying a bandwidth ratio between the uplink and the downlink based on the identified time;
Specify the time when the second data is transmitted to and received from the server,
A time difference specifying method, comprising: specifying a time difference for the server based on the specified bandwidth ratio and the specified time.   A program for causing a computer included in a communication terminal connected to a server via a network to execute the time difference specifying method according to claim 5.

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