U.S. patent application number 13/710962 was filed with the patent office on 2013-04-25 for media mediator system and method for managing contents of various formats.
This patent application is currently assigned to Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute. The applicant listed for this patent is Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Invention is credited to Kyong-Il Cho, Jun Kyun Choi, Seng Kyoun Jo, Yongrok Kim, Hyun Woo Lee, Hyojin Park, Won Ryu, Jinhong Yang, Changwoo Yoon.
Application Number | 20130103689 13/710962 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43033532 |
Filed Date | 2013-04-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130103689 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Choi; Jun Kyun ; et
al. |
April 25, 2013 |
MEDIA MEDIATOR SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING CONTENTS OF VARIOUS
FORMATS
Abstract
Provided is a system and method that may encode various formats
of contents to a single format and thereby manage the contents, and
may transform the contents to a format corresponding to a request
of a third party or an end user to distribute the content. A media
mediator system of managing various formats of contents may
include: a service manager to receive a content and metadata of the
content from a content provider; a metadata manager to register the
content using the metadata, and to store the metadata of the
registered content; a database manager to store and manage
information associated with the content; and an encoding manager to
schedule an encoding sequence of the content, and to sequentially
encode the content based on a scheduling result.
Inventors: |
Choi; Jun Kyun; (Daejeon,
KR) ; Yang; Jinhong; (Daejeon, KR) ; Park;
Hyojin; (Daejeon, KR) ; Cho; Kyong-Il;
(Gyeonggi-do, KR) ; Kim; Yongrok; (Daejeon,
KR) ; Ryu; Won; (Daejeon, KR) ; Lee; Hyun
Woo; (Daejeon, KR) ; Yoon; Changwoo; (Daejeon,
KR) ; Jo; Seng Kyoun; (Chungcheongbuk-do,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Technology; Korea Advanced Institute of Science and
Institute; Electronics and Telecommunications Research |
Daejeon
Daejeon |
|
KR
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Electronics and Telecommunications
Research Institute
Daejeon
KR
KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Daejeon
KR
|
Family ID: |
43033532 |
Appl. No.: |
13/710962 |
Filed: |
December 11, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12694434 |
Jan 27, 2010 |
8346741 |
|
|
13710962 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
707/737 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/222 20130101;
H04N 21/2353 20130101; H04N 21/23109 20130101; H04N 21/234309
20130101; H04N 21/6377 20130101; H04N 21/435 20130101; H04N 21/2662
20130101; H04N 21/6379 20130101; H04N 21/262 20130101; H04N 21/8586
20130101; H04N 21/254 20130101; G06F 16/258 20190101; H04N 7/17318
20130101; H04N 21/658 20130101; H04N 21/235 20130101; H04N 21/47202
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
707/737 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 2, 2009 |
KR |
10-2009-0082472 |
Claims
1. A method of managing various formats of contents, comprising:
aggregating, by a media mediator system, contents and metadata of
the contents from a plurality of content providers; converting, by
the media mediator system, the contents and metadata to web style
for end-user in Web service platform; and providing, by the media
mediator system, the converted contents and metadata to the
end-user.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the content providers have
different kinds of services platform.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting converts a format
of contents according to the end-user's request for contents.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata includes an access
path to the content and an access path to a thumbnail extracted
from the contents.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting converts a format
of metadata according to the end-user's request for contents.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the converting converts a format
of metadata to a format accessible for end-user in Web service
platform.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the format accessible for
end-user in Web service platform is an Extensible Markup Language
(XML) format.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting converts a format
of contents for IPTV to a format of contents for Web service
platform.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the media mediator system brokers
the contents and metadata between a plurality of content providers
and the end-user based on a format conversion of the contents and
metadata.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the aggregating verifies a
content list received from the content providers, and changes
status information of content included in the verified content
list, wherein the status information indicates that the content is
received from the content providers.
11. A media mediator system of managing various formats of
contents, comprising: a processor and memory; wherein the processor
aggregates contents and metadata of the contents from a plurality
of content providers, and stores the contents and metadata into the
memory; the processor converts the contents and metadata to web
style for end-user in Web service platform; and the processor
providers the converted contents and metadata to the end-user.
12. The media mediator system of claim 11, wherein the content
providers have different kinds of services platform.
13. The media mediator system of claim 11, wherein the processor
converts a format of contents according to the end-user's request
for contents.
14. The media mediator system of claim 11, wherein the metadata
includes an access path to the content and an access path to a
thumbnail extracted from the contents.
15. The media mediator system of claim 11, wherein the processor
converts a format of metadata according to the end-user's request
for contents.
16. The media mediator system of claim 15, wherein the processor
converts a format of metadata to a format accessible for end-user
in Web service platform.
17. The media mediator system of claim 11, the format accessible
for end-user in Web service platform is an Extensible Markup
Language (XML) format.
18. The media mediator system of claim 11, wherein the processor
converts a format of contents for IPTV to a format of contents for
Web service platform.
19. The media mediator system of claim 11, wherein the media
mediator system brokers the contents and metadata between a
plurality of content providers and the end-user based on a format
conversion of the contents and metadata.
20. The media mediator system of claim 11, wherein the processor
verifies a content list received from the content providers, and
changes status information of content included in the verified
content list, wherein the status information indicates that the
content is received from the content providers.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2009-0082472, filed on Sep. 2, 2009, in the
Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a system and method that
may encode various formats of contents to a single format and
thereby manage the contents, and may transform the contents to a
format corresponding to a request of a third party or an end user
to distribute the contents.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] In a conventional content providing service using a network,
when various content providers provide contents to a service
provider using a different platform, the service provider may
provide the contents to an end user using the same platform as the
platform of the service provider.
[0006] However, when a content desired by the end user is provided
by only another service provider using a platform not owned by the
end user, the end user may need to purchase a device or a system
using the corresponding platform, or abandon efforts to receive the
content.
[0007] The service provider or the content provider may be limited
to providing contents to only a number of end users using the
corresponding platform, and thus may have limited revenues or
limited advertising effect with respect to providing of
contents.
[0008] Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method that
may provide contents to all end users without restrictions on a
type of a platform used by a service provider or a type of platform
used by a content provider for a content creation.
SUMMARY
[0009] An aspect of the present invention provides a system and
method that may upload contents from a plurality of service
providers and content providers using different platforms, and
transform the uploaded contents to a single platform to thereby
provide all end users with the contents transformed to the single
platform, and thus enable all the end users to receive a content
provided by a service provider using a different platform.
[0010] Another aspect of the present invention also provides a
system and method that may transform an uploaded content to a
platform desired by another service provider and then provide the
other service provider with the content transformed to the desired
platform and thereby may easily increase a number of target users
to receive the content.
[0011] Another aspect of the present invention also provides a
system and method that may enable a system side to periodically
verify and upload a content of a content provider, and thereby may
enable the content provider to provide the content without a
separate uploading process.
[0012] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a media mediator system of managing various formats of
contents, including: a service manager to receive a content and
metadata of the content from a content provider; a metadata manager
to register the content using the metadata, and to store the
metadata of the registered content; a database manager to store and
manage information associated with the content; and an encoding
manager to schedule an encoding sequence of the content, and to
sequentially encode the content based on a scheduling result.
[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a method of managing various formats of contents, the
method including: setting, by an end user, a format of the content
desired by the end user; receiving, by a service manager, a content
and metadata of the content from a content provider; registering,
by a metadata manager, the content and the metadata of the content
to a database manager; encoding, by an encoding manager, the
content; and providing, by the service manager, the encoded content
to the end user.
[0014] According to embodiments of the present invention, it is
possible to provide all end users with contents uploaded from a
plurality of service providers and content providers using
different platforms, and transformed to a single platform, and thus
to enable all the end users to receive a content provided by a
service provider using a different platform by uploading the
contents, and transforming the uploaded contents to the single
platform.
[0015] According to embodiments of the present invention, it is
possible to easily increase a number of target users to receive a
content by transforming an uploaded content to a platform desired
by another service provider and then providing the other service
provider with the content transformed to the desired platform.
[0016] According to embodiments of the present invention, it is
possible to enable a content provider to provide a content without
a separate uploading process by enabling a system side to
periodically verify and upload the content of the content
provider.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] These and/or other aspects, features, and advantages of the
invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from
the following description of exemplary embodiments, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a relationship among users
associated with a service release information platform for an
Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) according to a related art;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of applying a
system of managing various formats of contents according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a comparison between a
conventional service providing system and a system of managing
various formats of contents according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a
system of managing various formats of contents according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an
aggregator of FIG. 4;
[0023] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a
media mediator of FIG. 4;
[0024] FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a
service manager of FIG. 6;
[0025] FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a
metadata manager of FIG. 6;
[0026] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a
database manager of FIG. 6;
[0027] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of
an encoding manager of FIG. 6;
[0028] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a
syndication portal of FIG. 4;
[0029] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing
various formats of contents according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0030] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a process of registering a
content provider according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0031] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a process of verifying and
uploading a content according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0032] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a process of registering a
content according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0033] FIG. 16 is diagram illustrating an encoding process
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0034] FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a process of setting, by
an end user or a third party, a format according to an embodiment
of the present invention;
[0035] FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a process of changing and
providing an encoded content according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0036] FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a process of managing, by
a syndication portal, a feed according to an embodiment of the
present invention; and
[0037] FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a process of setting or
modifying a metadata format of a content in a system of managing
various formats of contents according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0038] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary
embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference
numerals refer to the like elements throughout. Exemplary
embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by
referring to the figures.
[0039] According to embodiments of the present invention, in a
system of providing contents to end users over a network such as an
Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), it is possible to provide the
end users with contents created by content providers by
automatically uploading the contents at predetermined intervals,
and by transforming various formats of the uploaded contents to a
single format.
[0040] In addition, when a third party desires to provide a content
using a different format, an uploaded content may be transformed to
the different format and be provided to the third party.
Accordingly, it is possible to easily increase a content target
scope.
[0041] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a relationship among users
associated with a service release information platform 110 for an
IPTV.
[0042] The service release information platform 110 for the IPTV
may be commonly used by a content provider 120 to provide a content
broadcasted by the IPTV, a service provider 130 to manage the
content and to provide the content to an end user 150, and a
network provider 140. The network provider 140 may provide a
network to transmit the content provided by the service provider
130 to the IPTV owned by the end user 150.
[0043] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of applying a
system of managing various formats of contents (hereinafter,
"contents managing system") according to an embodiment of the
present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a comparison
between a conventional service providing system 310 and a contents
managing system 320 according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0044] As shown in FIG. 2, in the contents managing system, a
broker service provider 230 may collectively manage contents of
content providers 210 maintained by service providers 220, and may
provide contents to an end user 250 over a network provided by a
network provider 240.
[0045] As shown in FIG. 3, in the conventional service providing
system 310, when various content providers 311 provide contents to
service providers 312, 313, and 314 using different platforms, each
of the service providers 312, 313, and 314 may provide contents to
an end user using the same platform as a platform of a
corresponding service provider.
[0046] For example, an end user using an Application Configuration
Access Protocol (ACAP) platform may not receive a content provided
using only an Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB)
platform.
[0047] In the contents managing system 320 according to an
embodiment of the present invention, a broker service provider 230
may upload contents from content providers 210 and service
providers 321, 322, and 323 using different platforms, transform
the contents to a single platform and then provide the contents to
an end user 250. Accordingly, the end user 250 may receive a
content provided from a service provider using a platform different
from a platform of the end user 250.
[0048] In FIG. 3, the broker service provider 230 transforms a
content to a web platform that is a most easily accessible
environment, and then provides the content to the end user 250.
[0049] Also, it is possible to transform an uploaded content to a
platform desired by another service provider, and to thereby
provide the uploaded content to the other service provider.
[0050] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a
contents managing system according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0051] As shown in FIG. 4, in the contents managing system, a
broker service provider 230 may include an aggregator 410, a media
mediator 420, a syndication portal 430, and a media farm 440.
[0052] The aggregator 410 may periodically verify whether an added
content exists in a feed of a content provider, and upload the
added content when the added content exists.
[0053] Here, the feed may denote a share-set folder for uploading
in a content provider terminal 210, or may denote an address
accessible to a site based on address information provided from the
syndication portal 430 or to a content provided from the content
provider.
[0054] The aggregator 410 may verify whether the added content
exists only with respect to a published content of the content
provider.
[0055] A configuration of the aggregator 410 will be further
described with reference to FIG. 5.
[0056] The media mediator 420 may register the uploaded content,
encode the content, and provide the encoded content to an end user
or a third party.
[0057] The media mediator 420 may exclusively access the content
provider terminal 210 to receive the content and metadata of the
content from the content provider, register the received content,
encode the content, and provide the encoded content to the end
user.
[0058] A configuration of the media mediator 420 will be further
described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 10.
[0059] The syndication portal 430 may register a content provider
desiring to provide a content in the contents managing system, and
may transmit, to the content provider, a Universal Resource Locator
(URL) for a feed and a content metadata format to be used for a
content creation.
[0060] The syndication portal 430 may provide a content transformed
to a format used by a third party to the third party that receives
the content registered in the contents managing system to provide
the received content to an end user using a platform different from
a platform of the contents managing system. In this instance, a
terminal of the third party receiving the content transformed to
the format used by the third party may be referred to as a third
party terminal 470.
[0061] A configuration of the syndication portal 430 will be
further described with reference to FIG. 11.
[0062] The media farm 440 may store the uploaded content, and may
provide the stored content to the end user according to a control
of the media mediator 420.
[0063] The media farm 440 may include a web application server to
provide an access site of the end user, a file transfer server to
transfer a content to the end user, a window media server to
execute the content on a website, and a content storage unit to
store the content.
[0064] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of
the aggregator 410 of FIG. 4.
[0065] As shown in FIG. 5, the aggregator 410 may include a feed
listener 510, a feed transmission unit 520, an uploader 530, a
temporary content storage unit 540, a content collector 550, and a
content transmission unit 560.
[0066] The feed listener 510 may interpret a published format of a
content from an original source of the content provider terminal
210 in order to receive the content from the content provider
terminal 210.
[0067] The feed transmission unit 520 may transmit metadata of the
content to the media mediator 420 to be assigned with a unique
identifier (ID) with respect to the content, may schedule uploading
of the content, and may execute the uploader 530 to upload the
content.
[0068] The uploader 530 may upload the content from a feed of the
content provider terminal 210 and store the uploaded content in the
temporary content storage unit 540. The uploader 530 may use, for
example, a direct upload Application Programming Interface
(API).
[0069] The temporary content storage unit 540 may temporarily store
the content until the content is transmitted to the media mediator
420.
[0070] When contents are temporarily stored in the temporary
content storage unit 540 by an operation of the aggregator 410, the
content collector 550 may collect at least one content stored in
the temporary content storage unit 540.
[0071] The content transmission unit 560 may transmit the collected
at least one content to the media mediator 420.
[0072] Describing an operation of the aggregator 410 in detail,
when the feed listener 510 receives metadata of the content from
the feed of the content provider terminal 210, the feed
transmission unit 520 may analyze the metadata to register an
uploader ID for identifying the content provider providing the
content, and may request the media mediator 420 for a content
unique ID for identifying the content.
[0073] The feed transmission unit 520 may transmit the metadata to
the media mediator 420, and upload the content from the feed of the
content provider terminal 210 to the uploader 530, and may store
the uploaded content in the temporary content storage unit 540.
[0074] When the feed transmission unit 520 receives the content
unique ID from the media mediator 420, the content collector 550
may collect a corresponding content stored in the temporary content
storage unit 540, and the content transmission unit 560 may
transmit the collected content to the media mediator 420.
[0075] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of
the media mediator 420 of FIG. 4.
[0076] As shown in FIG. 6, the media mediator 420 may include a
service manager 610, a metadata manager 620, a database manager
630, and an encoding manager 640.
[0077] The serving manager 610 may receive a content from the
aggregator 410, and request another constituent component such as
the metadata manager 620, the database manager 630, and the
encoding manager 640 for operations associated with the
content.
[0078] A configuration of the service manager 610 will be further
described with reference to FIG. 7.
[0079] The metadata manager 620 may generate a unique ID from
metadata of the content, register the unique ID to the syndication
portal 430, transmit the unique ID to the aggregator 410, and
transform the metadata to a schema suitable for a contents managing
system, and store the transformed metadata.
[0080] A configuration of the metadata manager 620 will be further
described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0081] The database manager 630 may store and manage information
associated with the content.
[0082] A configuration of the database manager 630 will be further
described with reference to FIG. 9.
[0083] The encoding manager 640 may schedule an encoding sequence
of the content, and sequentially encode the content into a format
corresponding to the contents managing system.
[0084] A configuration of the encoding manager 640 will be further
described with reference to FIG. 10.
[0085] FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of
the service manager 610 of FIG. 6.
[0086] As shown in FIG. 7, the service manager 610 may include a
register service unit 710, a select service unit 720, and an update
service unit 730.
[0087] The register service unit 710 may sequentially control
configurations required during a process of registering a content
uploaded from a feed. Also, the register service unit 710 may
control a process of registering the content received from the
content provider.
[0088] The select service unit 720 may sequentially control
configurations required during a process of transforming metadata
of the content to a format employed by the contents managing
system, and using the transformed metadata in a service.
[0089] When a request for modifying the metadata of the content is
received from the syndication portal 430, the update service unit
730 may modify the metadata of the content stored in the database
manager 630.
[0090] FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of
the metadata manager 620 of FIG. 6.
[0091] As shown in FIG. 8, the metadata manager 620 may include an
orchestrator 810, a rule storage unit 820, a rule manager 830, a
rule loader 840, an editor 850, a reverse rule manager 860, and a
reverse orchestrator 870.
[0092] The orchestrator 810 may orchestrate metadata of a content
based on a rule stored in the rule storage unit 820.
[0093] The rule storage unit 820 may store a rule set by a content
provider or a third party. The rule may include information
associated with a particular standard and a format or a platform of
the content used by the content provider or the third party, and a
metadata format of the content.
[0094] The rule manager 830 may transmit a particular condition to
the rule loader 840 according to a request of the syndication
portion 430 so that the rule loader 840 may retrieve an edition
target rule satisfying the particular condition, and may transmit
the edition target rule to the editor 850.
[0095] The rule loader 840 may retrieve, from the rule storage unit
820, a rule satisfying the particular condition, and may transmit
the retrieved rule to the rule manager 830.
[0096] The editor 850 may execute a jamper to edit the edition
target rule according to a request of the third party connected to
the syndication portal 430 or to the media mediator 420.
[0097] The reverse rule manager 860 may receive the edited rule
from the editor 850, and transmit the edited rule to the rule
storage unit 820 and syndication portal 430 to store the edited
rule.
[0098] The reverse orchestrator 870 may orchestrate metadata of the
content based on the edited rule.
[0099] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of
the database manager 630 of FIG. 6.
[0100] As shown in FIG. 9, the database manager 630 may include an
inserter 910, a metadata storage unit 920, a formatter 930, an
encoding rule loader 940, an updater 950, a selector 960, and a
reverse formatter 970.
[0101] The inserter 910 may receive orchestrated metadata of a
content from the service manager 610, store the orchestrated
metadata of the content in the metadata storage unit 920, and
request the syndication portal 430 to register the content
containing the orchestrated metadata.
[0102] The metadata storage unit 920 may store metadata of the
content and information associated with the content.
[0103] Information associated with the content may include at least
one of a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) string for identifying
the content, basic content information including a content title or
a content creator, information associated with a marker indicated
at a play point when the content corresponds to a media content,
information regarding a content credit and a plurality of media
link addresses. The metadata of the content may include an encoding
rule to encode the content.
[0104] The formatter 930 may transform the orchestrated metadata to
a method schema used in the metadata storage unit 920. The method
schema may include, for example, a Structured Query Language (SQL)
query string.
[0105] The encoding rule loader 940 may extract the encoding rule
from the stored metadata to provide the extracted encoding rule to
the encoding manager 640.
[0106] The updater 950 may update, to the metadata storage unit
620, an access path to the encoded content and an access path to a
thumbnail extracted from the content.
[0107] The selector 960 may retrieve metadata of the content from
the metadata storage unit 920 according to a request of the service
manager 610, transmit the retrieved metadata to the reverse
formatter 970 to transform the metadata, and may request the
metadata manager 620 for reverse orchestrating of the metadata.
[0108] The reverse formatter 970 may transform the metadata of the
content to an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format managed by
the syndication portal 430.
[0109] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of
the encoding manager 640 of FIG. 6.
[0110] As shown in FIG. 10, the encoding manager 640 may include a
receiver 1010, a scheduler 1020, an encoder 1030, and a thumbnailer
1040.
[0111] The receiver 1010 may periodically receive, from the
syndication portal 430, a content list uploaded by the aggregator
410, and change content status information included in the received
content list to "received".
[0112] The content status information included in the content list
may be stored in the syndication portal 430.
[0113] When the media mediator 420 is exclusively used, the content
status information may be stored in the database manager 630.
Accordingly, when the media mediator 420 is exclusively used and
the content status information needs to be changed, the content
status information stored in the database manager 630 may be
changed instead of changing the content status information stored
in the syndication portal 430.
[0114] In this instance, the receiver 1010 may periodically verify
a content list received from the content provider, stored in the
database manager 630, and may change, to "received", content status
information included in the verified content list.
[0115] The scheduler 1020 may periodically receive, from the
syndication portal 430, a list of contents that are in a "received"
status, and receive, from the metadata manager 620, a rule to
encode the contents being in the received status, and transmit the
encoded contents and the rule to the encoder 1030 to request the
encoder 103 for encoding of the content being in the received
status.
[0116] The scheduler 1020 may transmit, to the thumbnailer 1040,
the contents being in the received status to extract a
thumbnail.
[0117] The scheduler 1020 may also transmit, to the updater 950, an
access path to the encoded contents and an access path to the
extracted thumbnail.
[0118] The encoder 1030 may receive, from the scheduler 1020, the
contents being in the received status and the rule to encode the
contents, and encode the contents based on the received rule. When
encoding is completed, the encoder 1030 may change the content
status information to "encoding complete".
[0119] The thumbnailer 1040 may receive, from the scheduler 1020,
the contents being in the received status, and extract the
thumbnail from the contents.
[0120] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of
the syndication portal 430.
[0121] As shown in FIG. 11, the syndication portal 430 may include
a system database 1110, a service operator interface 1120, a
content provider interface 1130, and a third party interface
1140.
[0122] The system database 1110 may store content status
information, feed information, content provider information, third
party information, end user information receiving the content, and
content use status information.
[0123] The content status information may include at least one of a
URI string for identifying the content, basic content information
including a content title and a content creator, information
associated with a marker indicated at a play point when the content
corresponds to a media content, information regarding a content
credit, a plurality of media link addresses of the link, and a
right to the content, and information associated with a content
price or a contract.
[0124] The content provider information, the third party
information, and the end user information may include at least one
of an ID, a password, a name, a height, a language, and a
subscribed date with respect to a target user, and ID information
indicating which one the target user belongs among the content
provider, the third party, and the end user.
[0125] The feed information may include at least one of an ID of a
content provider owning a corresponding feed, ID information of the
feed, initial address information of a metadata list of a content
created by the content provider, and status information of the
feed.
[0126] The system database 1110 may further store information
associated with events having a possibility of occurring in the
syndication portal 430, information associated with an event
solution scheme, and information associated with a type of the
content provided for the end user and a provided time.
[0127] The service operator interface 1120 may manage content
status information and content provider information, and may
register the content provider, the third party, and the end
user.
[0128] The service operator interface 1120 may identify an end user
connected to the contents managing system, based on an ID of the
end user, and may recommend a content suitable for the end user
based on types of contents provided for the user and provided
times.
[0129] The service operator interface 1120 may include a feed
upload managing function of the content provider, and may utilize a
block function by referring to the contents.
[0130] The service operator interface 1120 may manage information,
alarms, and events occurring in a constituent component different
from the syndication portal 430.
[0131] The content provider interface 1130 may provide the content
provider with an upload status, an issue status, and a use status
with respect to a content desired by the content provider.
[0132] The third party interface 1140 may provide information
associated with the content registered to the third party holding
the third party terminal 470, and may transform and provide a
format of the registered content according to a request of the
third party.
[0133] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing
various formats of contents according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0134] In operation S1210, the syndication portal 430 may register
a content provider desiring to provide a content according to a
request of the content provider.
[0135] In this instance, the syndication portal 430 may transmit,
to the content provider, a URL for a feed and a metadata format to
be used for content creation.
[0136] The content provider registration process will be further
described with reference to FIG. 13.
[0137] In operation S1220, the aggregator 410 may periodically
inspect a feed of each of registered content providers.
[0138] In operation S1230, the aggregator 410 may verify whether an
added content exists in the inspected feed. When the added content
does not exist in operation S1230, the aggregator 410 may repeat
operation S1220.
[0139] Conversely, when the added content exists in operation
S1230, the aggregator 410 may upload the added content from the
feed, and request the media mediator 420 to register the added
content in operation S1240.
[0140] The content verifying and uploading process corresponding to
operations S1220 through S1240 will be further described with
reference to FIG. 14.
[0141] In operation S1250, the media mediator 420 may register the
requested added content.
[0142] The content registration process will be further described
with reference to FIG. 15.
[0143] In operation S1260, the media mediator 420 may encode the
registered added content to a format suitable for the contents
managing system.
[0144] The encoding process will be further described with
reference to FIG. 16.
[0145] In operation S1270, the media mediator 420 may provide the
encoded content to an end user or a third party.
[0146] In this instance, the media mediator 420 may transform the
encoded content to a format set by the end user or the third party,
and thereby provide the transformed content.
[0147] The format setting process will be further described with
reference to FIG. 17, and the encoded content changing and
providing process will be further described with reference to FIG.
18.
[0148] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a process of registering a
content provider according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0149] When the syndication portal 430 receives a subscription
request signal from the content provider terminal 210 in operation
1310, the syndication portal 430 may generate an ID and a password
of the content provider based on the subscription request signal,
and may store the ID and the password in the media farm 440 in
operation 1320. In this instance, the syndication portion 430 may
generate subscription information including the ID and the password
of the content provider, and information associated with the
content provider.
[0150] The syndication portal 430 may receive the subscription
request signal from the content provider terminal 210 via a webpage
provided from the service operator interface 1120. The syndication
portal 430 may generate the subscription information using a
service layer containing the system database 1110 and the service
operator interface 1120.
[0151] In operation 1330, the syndication portal 430 may generate a
key corresponding to the ID and the password of the content
provider. In operation 1340, the syndication portal 430 may
transmit the ID and the password of the content provider and the
key to request an execution of a log-in process.
[0152] In this instance, the syndication portal 430 may generate a
corresponding key based on the ID of the content provider and a
current time, and may store the generated key in the system
database 1110. When a particular situation occurs while generating
the key, the syndication portal 430 may process the particular
situation by transmitting and receiving information to and from the
system database 1110.
[0153] When the content provider attempts to log in the content in
operation 1350, the syndication portal 430 may compare an ID and a
password received from the content provider terminal 210 with the
ID and the password stored in the system database 1110, and verify
the information in operation 1360, and may provide the content
provider with a main page to utilize the service operator interface
1120 or the content provider interface 1130 in operation 1380.
[0154] In this instance, the syndication portal 430 may verify
information changed in the system database 110 and update the
information in operation 1370, and then may provide the content
provider with the main page.
[0155] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a process of verifying and
uploading a content according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0156] In operation 1410, a content may be prepared in a feed of
the content provider terminal 210. In this state, when the
aggregator 410 attempts content polling with respect to address
information of the feed, the aggregator 410 may detect the content
in operation 1420.
[0157] In operation 1430, the aggregator 410 may upload metadata of
the content from the feed of the content provider terminal 210. The
aggregator 410 may analyze the uploaded metadata to obtain address
information of the content and content information in operation
1440.
[0158] In operation 1450, the aggregator 410 may register, to the
media mediator 420, an uploader ID for identifying the content
provider providing the content, and may request the media mediator
420 for a content unique ID for identifying the content.
[0159] In operation 1455, the aggregator 410 may transmit uploaded
metadata to the media mediator 420.
[0160] In operation 1460, the media mediator 420 may receive the
metadata to register the content.
[0161] In operation 1470, the aggregator 410 may upload the content
from the feed of the content provider terminal 210.
[0162] In operation 1480, the media mediator 420 may transmit, to
the aggregator 410, the content unique ID generated during a
content registration process.
[0163] In operation 1490, the aggregator 410 receiving the content
unique ID may transmit the content to the media mediator 420,
periodically perform polling with respect to the feed of the
content provider terminal 210, and transmit collected contents to
the media mediator 420.
[0164] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a process of registering a
content according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0165] When the aggregator 410 transmits the content, uploaded in
operation S1250, to the service manager 610 of the media mediator
420 (1510), the register service unit 710 of the service manager
610 may request the orchestrator 810 of the metadata manager 620 to
transform metadata of the content (1520). In this instance, the
orchestrator 810 may transform a format of the metadata to a format
used in the contents managing system, for example, to a cans_rss
format.
[0166] The orchestrator 810 may retrieve, from the rule storage
unit 820 according to a request of the register service unit 710, a
rule to transform metadata of the content provider providing the
content (1525). The orchestrator 810 may orchestrate the metadata
of the content based on the retrieved rule (1530).
[0167] Specifically, the orchestrator 810 may orchestrate an XML of
the metadata to an XML format used in a web-base IPTV middleware,
and may transmit the orchestrated metadata to the register service
unit 710.
[0168] The register service unit 710 may transmit the orchestrated
metadata to the inserter 910 of the database manager 630 to request
a content registration (1540).
[0169] The inserter 910 may transmit the orchestrated metadata to
the formatter 930 to transform the orchestrated metadata to a
method schema used in the metadata storage unit 920 (1545).
[0170] The inserter 910 may transmit the content containing the
orchestrated metadata to the syndication portal 430 to register the
content (1550). The inserter 910 may store the orchestrated
metadata in the metadata storage unit 920 (1555).
[0171] When the inserter 910 transmits, to the register service
unit 710, a content list managing registered contents (1560), the
register service unit 710 may return the received content list to
the aggregator 410 (1570).
[0172] FIG. 16 is diagram illustrating an encoding process
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0173] The encoding manager 640 may share contents with the media
farm 440 using a network file system. The encoder 1030 and the
thumbnailer 1040 may access contents stored in the media farm 440
without restrictions.
[0174] The receiver 1010 may periodically receive, from the
syndication portal 430, a list of contents uploaded by the
aggregator 410, and may change content status information included
in the content list to "received" (1610).
[0175] The scheduler 1020 may periodically receive, from the
syndication portal 430, a list of contents being in a received
status to determine an encoding sequence, and change content status
information of a content to be encoded to "encoding" (1620).
[0176] The scheduler 1020 may request the encoding rule loader 940
for an encoding rule, and the encoding rule loader 940 may extract,
from content metadata, an encoding rule corresponding to the
content being in the received status, and may provide the extracted
encoding rule to the scheduler 1020 (1630).
[0177] The scheduler 1020 may transmit the content being in the
received status and the encoding rule to the encoder 1030 to
request an encoding (1640).
[0178] In this instance, the encoder 1030 may encode the received
content being in the received status, based on the encoding rule.
When encoding is completed, the encoder 1030 may transmit the
encoded content to the scheduler 1020. Also, the encoder 1030 may
provide an encoding progress rate to the syndication portal 430
periodically during the encoding process (1650).
[0179] For example, the encoder 1030 may encode the content being
in the received status using FFMpeg.
[0180] The scheduler 1020 may transmit the content being in the
received status to the thumbnailer 1040 to request the thumbnailer
1040 for extracting a thumbnail (1660).
[0181] In this instance, the thumbnailer 1040 may extract the
thumbnail from the content being in the received status using
FFMpeg, and transmit the extracted thumbnail to the scheduler
1020.
[0182] The scheduler 1020 may transmit, to the updater 950, an
access path to the encoded content and an access path to the
extracted thumbnail (1670).
[0183] The updater 950 may update, to the metadata storage unit
920, the access path to the encoded content and the access path to
the extracted thumbnail (1680).
[0184] FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a process of setting, by
an end user or a third party, a format according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0185] When the syndication portal 430 approaches the rule manager
830 of the media mediator 620 to request a format setting according
to a request of a content provider (1710), the rule manager 830 may
transmit a particular condition to the rule loader 840 according to
a request of the syndication portal 430 so that the rule loader 840
may retrieve a rule to be edited, satisfying the particular
condition (1720).
[0186] The rule loader 840 may retrieve, from the rule storage unit
820, a rule satisfying the particular condition (1730), and may
transmit the retrieved rule to the rule manager 830 (1740).
[0187] The rule manager 830 may transmit, to the editor 850, the
rule received from the rule loader 840 (1750).
[0188] The editor 850 may edit the rule according to the request of
the end user or the third party connected to the syndication portal
430. When the edition is completed, the editor 850 may transmit the
edited rule to the reverse rule manager 860 (1760).
[0189] For example, the editor 850 may edit the rule using a
jamper.
[0190] The reverse rule manager 860 may store the edited rule in
the rule storage unit 820 (1770), and transmit the edited rule to
the syndication portal 430 for a registration (1780). Through this,
it is possible to terminate a setting process of a corresponding
tool.
[0191] FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a process of changing and
providing an encoded content according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0192] When the syndication portal 430 receives, from an end user
or a third party, a request for a content satisfying a particular
condition, the syndication portal 430 may request the select
service unit 720 of the service manager 610 for information
associated with the content (1810).
[0193] The select service unit 720 may request the selector 960 of
the database manager 630 for content information (1820). The
selector 960 may retrieve the content information from the metadata
storage unit 920 (1830).
[0194] The selector 960 may transmit the content information to the
reverse formatter 970 to transform the content information to an
XML format managed by the syndication portal 430 (1840), and may
request the reserve rule manager 860 of the metadata manager 620
for a reverse transformation (1850).
[0195] In this instance, the metadata transformed to the XML format
by the reverse formatter 970 may be transmitted as metadata of the
content to the third party terminal 470 according to a request of
the third party.
[0196] For example, the reverse formatter 970 may transform the
content information to an XML format used over an IPTV
middleware.
[0197] The reverse rule manager 860 may retrieve, from the rule
storage unit 820 according to a reverse transformation request, the
rule edited by the end user or the third party (1860), and may
transmit the edited rule to the select service unit 720 via the
selector 960 (1870, 1880).
[0198] The select service unit 720 may transmit the edited rule to
the syndication rule 430 (1890). The syndication portal 430 may
request the encoding manager 640 to encode the content using the
edited rule, and to transform the content to a format suitable for
the end user or the third party. When the content transformed to
the suitable format is transmitted from the encoding manager 640,
the syndication portal 430 may provide the transformed content to
the end user or the third party.
[0199] FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a process of managing, by
the syndication portal 430, a feed according to an embodiment of
the present invention.
[0200] When the syndication portal 430 receives a feed list request
signal from the content provider terminal 210 in operation 1910,
the syndication portal 430 may load feeds, stored in the system
database 1110, according to the feed list request signal to obtain
a feed list in operation 1920. In operation 1930, the syndication
portal 430 may provide a content provider with the feed list and a
main page so that the content provider may utilize the service
operator interface 1120 or the content provider interface 1130.
[0201] When the syndication portal 430 receives a feed update
request signal from the content provider terminal 210 in operation
1940, the syndication portal 430 may generate a feed based on the
feed update request signal to add the feed to the system database
1110 in operation 1950, or may delete the feed from the system
database 1110 in operation 1960.
[0202] In operation 1970, the syndication portal 430 may provide
the content provider with a feed update result and the main page,
so that the content provider may utilize the service operator
interface 1120 or the content provider interface 1130.
[0203] FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a process of setting or
modifying a metadata format of a content in a contents managing
system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0204] When the syndication portal 430 receives, from the content
provider terminal 210, a rule generation signal to generate a rule,
or a rule modification signal to modify a rule stored in the rule
storage unit 820 in operation 2010, the syndication portal 430 may
verify user information stored in the system database 1110
according to the rule generation signal or the rule modification
signal in operation 2020.
[0205] In this instance, the rule generation signal may denote a
signal indicating generation of a rule with respect to a metadata
format of the content provider. The rule modification signal may
denote a signal indicating modifying of a rule with respect to the
metadata format of the content provider. The user information may
correspond to subscription information of the content provider.
[0206] When the content provider is authenticated using user
information stored in the system database 1110 in operation 2030,
the syndication portal 430 may request the orchestrator 810 for an
access address to modify the rule in operation 2040.
[0207] The syndication portal 430 may receive the access address
from the orchestrator 810 in operation 2050, and transfer the
received access address to the content provider terminal 210 in
operation 2060.
[0208] When the orchestrator 810 receives, from the content
provider terminal 210, information associated with a rule to be
generated or a portion of the rule to be modified in operation
2070, data may be exchanged between the content provider terminal
210 and the rule storage unit 820 according to FIG. 17 to thereby
set a format in operation 2080 and 2085.
[0209] The orchestrator 810 may transmit, to the content provider
terminal 210, a rule generation complete signal or a rule
modification complete signal in operation 2090 to indicate the
format is set according to FIG. 17. The rule generation complete
signal or the rule modification complete signal may be differently
transmitted depending on which one the syndication portal 430
receives between the rule generation signal and the rule
modification signal.
[0210] When a third party desires to modify a rule of the third
party using the third party terminal 470, the syndication portal
430 may replace the orchestrator 810 with the reverse orchestrator
870 to thereby perform operations shown in FIG. 20, and thereby
modify the rule of the third party.
[0211] As described above, according to embodiments of the present
invention, it is possible to provide all end users with contents
uploaded from a plurality of service providers and content
providers using different platforms, and transformed to a single
platform, and thus to enable all the end users to receive a content
provided by a service provider using a different platform by
uploading the contents, and transforming the uploaded contents to
the single platform.
[0212] Also, according to embodiments of the present invention, it
is possible to easily increase a number of target users to receive
a content by transforming an uploaded content to a platform desired
by another service provider and then providing the other service
provider with the content transformed to the desired platform.
[0213] Also, according to embodiments of the present invention, it
is possible to enable a content provider to provide a content
without a separate uploading process by enabling a system side to
periodically verify and upload the content of the content
provider.
[0214] The contents managing method according to the
above-described exemplary embodiments of the present invention may
be recorded in computer-readable media including program
instructions to implement various operations embodied by a
computer. The media may also include, alone or in combination with
the program instructions, data files, data structures, and the
like. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media
such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media
such as CD ROM disks and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as
floptical disks; and hardware devices that are specially configured
to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory
(ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, and the like.
Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such as
produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that
may be executed by the computer using an interpreter. The described
hardware devices may be configured to act as one or more software
modules in order to perform the operations of the above-described
exemplary embodiments of the present invention, or vice versa.
[0215] Although a few exemplary embodiments of the present
invention have been shown and described, the present invention is
not limited to the described exemplary embodiments. Instead, it
would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may
be made to these exemplary embodiments without departing from the
principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is
defined by the claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *