Signal forwarding path calculation method and calculation device for broadcast television system

Abstract

The invention discloses a signal forwarding path calculation method and a signal forwarding path calculation device for a broadcast television system. The signal forwarding path calculation method comprises the following steps: acquiring a node position and a source signal format of a signal source in a network topology; acquiring a node position and a target signal format of the target equipment in the network topology; selecting a signal conversion scheme according to the source signal format and the target signal format; according to the signal conversion scheme, generating a segmented signal forwarding path from the signal source to the target equipment in the network topology; and combining the segmented signal forwarding paths so as to establish a full-link signal forwarding path from the signal source to the target device. According to the signal forwarding path calculation method, path optimization of signal segmentation is carried out according to a topological structure of a hybrid network so as to realize full-link signal forwarding path optimization and dynamic change of adaptive network topology.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of broadcasting and television program editing and production, and in particular to a signal forwarding path calculation method and a calculation device for a broadcasting and television system. Background Art

[0002] According to the existing TV station's production process for news and other programs, first use professional equipment such as cameras to conduct on-site interviews and recording. After recording, the video returns to the TV station and is edited and produced by professional non-linear editing equipment. After production, the video is reviewed and provided to the broadcast system, which plays it. The production and broadcast of radio and television (referred to as "production and broadcasting") requires a large number of staff and video equipment to work together.

[0003] In the early broadcasting and television production and broadcasting networks, multiple video devices were connected through a serial digital interface (SDI). SDI technology supports the transmission of uncompressed digital video signals and is widely used in video editing and broadcast quality video transmission.

[0004] In modern broadcasting and television production and broadcasting networks, IP technology is increasingly being used. By adopting an ICT-based IP technology architecture, which gradually replaces the traditional SDI technology architecture, this shift has improved the efficiency and flexibility of production and broadcasting. For example, Huawei's intelligent IP production and broadcasting network solution uses a software-defined network (SDN) architecture, combined with an IP switching matrix and media asset management terminal equipment, to achieve network management, monitoring, IP flow analysis, and intelligent scheduling.

[0005] In network design, the hybrid network of a broadcasting and television system can include a video subnet and an IP subnet, combining SDI, SDN, and IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) to achieve efficient video transmission and network management. For example, in broadcasting and television signal scheduling, SDI is used to transmit high-quality video signals, while SDN is used to dynamically manage and optimize network resources to ensure efficient transmission of video signals. IGMP is used to manage multicast video streams to ensure that only devices that request specific multicast content will receive the relevant video streams. This combination can improve the efficiency and quality of video transmission while reducing network complexity and operating costs.

[0006] However, the hybrid network of the broadcasting and television system also poses new challenges to network scheduling and management. In actual use, the relevant departments of the broadcasting and television system often convert a certain signal into the required format according to the corresponding tasks and send it to the corresponding workstation. In this process, the signal involves multiple format conversions, video equipment parameter settings, switch path selection and other operations. The relevant department will provide a table to record the tasks, and the operator will set the channel parameters of the corresponding equipment according to the time of the task and the signal format conversion requirements, select the corresponding connected switch port, select the path between multi-level switches, or simply do some path calculations. Since the network composed of switches and video devices in the hybrid network is relatively complex and the number of tasks is large every day, a lot of repetitive work needs to be done every day, which requires high technical requirements and is prone to errors leading to broadcast accidents.

[0007] We look forward to further improving the signal forwarding path calculation method and calculation device of the broadcasting and television system to achieve full-link signal forwarding path optimization and dynamic changes in adaptive network topology. Summary of the invention

[0008] In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a signal forwarding path calculation method and a calculation device for a broadcasting and television system, which performs path optimization of signal segments according to the topology structure of a hybrid network, so as to achieve full-link signal forwarding path optimization and dynamic changes of adaptive network topology.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a signal forwarding path calculation method for a broadcasting and television system, comprising: obtaining a node position of a signal source in a network topology and a source signal format; obtaining a node position of a target device in the network topology and a target signal format; selecting a signal conversion scheme according to the source signal format and the target signal format; generating a segmented signal forwarding path from the signal source to the target device in the network topology according to the signal conversion scheme; and merging the segmented signal forwarding paths to establish a full-link signal forwarding path from the signal source to the target device.

[0010] Optionally, the broadcasting and television system has a hybrid network topology, the hybrid network includes a video subnetwork and an IP subnetwork, and the full-link signal forwarding path is a signal path from the signal source to the target device via multiple node devices.

[0011] Optionally, the node devices of the video sub-network include video routing devices and video conversion devices, and the node devices of the IP sub-network include network switches and video conversion devices.

[0012] Optionally, the video conversion device is used for signal conversion between a first signal format and a second signal format, and the video routing device is used for transmitting the video signal from the first input end to the selected first output end.

[0013] Optionally, the signal conversion scheme includes an intermediate signal format between a source signal format and a target signal format, and a signal forwarding time period.

[0014] Optionally, when generating a segmented signal forwarding path, the conflict state of the node device in the signal forwarding time period is determined according to the connection information and port information of the network switch, and the channel attributes of the video routing device and the video conversion device.

[0015] Optionally, the conflict state of the node device in the signal forwarding time period is determined according to the port bandwidth and traffic load of the switch.

[0016] Optionally, the conflict state of the node device in the signal forwarding time period is determined according to the channel usage state of the video conversion device.

[0017] In the above signal forwarding path calculation method, when generating a segmented signal forwarding path, if there are multiple available node devices, the node device of the segmented signal forwarding path is selected according to the priority of the multiple node devices.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, a hybrid network signal path calculation device is provided, which is used to execute the hybrid network signal forwarding path calculation method mentioned above.

[0019] According to the signal forwarding path calculation method and calculation device of the embodiment of the present invention, the forwarding path optimization of the signal segment is performed according to the topological structure of the hybrid network to achieve full-link signal forwarding path optimization. Compared with the path optimization of multiple sub-networks of the hybrid network separately, a more flexible and efficient full-link signal path can be provided between multiple signal sources and multiple target devices.

[0020] In the hybrid network of the broadcasting and television system, regardless of the node device changes in the video subnet or the IP subnet, the signal forwarding path calculation method can automatically recalculate the full-link signal forwarding path according to the automatically reconstructed network topology structure, thereby being able to adapt to the dynamic changes of the network topology. Therefore, the signal forwarding path calculation method can support the automatic optimization of the signal forwarding path in the complex network environment of the hybrid network.

[0021] Furthermore, based on the existing network topology, the signal forwarding path calculation method allows for arbitrary addition of video devices and switch nodes, and also supports adding or merging another network structure on the existing network topology. When adding a new node device, a new signal forwarding path can be automatically scheduled to improve network forwarding performance. When removing a node device, the node device can be deleted from the path selection strategy to improve signal stability. For example, as the number of workstations in a broadcasting and television system increases, the hybrid network monitoring device in the background management system can automatically expand the scale of the hybrid network without manual maintenance, thereby saving maintenance costs.

[0022] Furthermore, the signal forwarding path calculation method and calculation device according to the embodiment of the present invention support signal sources and receiving devices of any signal format. According to the conflict rules of different signal segments, in each link segment, the optimal resources that can be used are calculated according to the different signal formats, such as selecting different up and down conversion resources according to different signal attributes such as signal resolution (SD / HD / UHD) to convert the signal. In the IP subnet, a multi-path forwarding path is used to share the network load, and video conversion equipment is shared in the IP subnet and the video subnet for centralized video conversion to reduce system costs. Therefore, while improving the stability of the hybrid network, optimizing communication performance, and improving management efficiency, the system cost can also be minimized. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent through the following description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of a broadcasting and television network system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0025] Figure 2 The hybrid network topology structure of the broadcasting and television playing system according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0026] Figure 3 Show Figure 2 Examples of signal forwarding paths in the network topology shown;

[0027] Figure 4 A schematic block diagram of a hybrid network background management system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0028] Figure 5 A flow chart of a signal forwarding path calculation method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each of the accompanying drawings, the same elements are represented by the same or similar reference numerals. For the sake of clarity, the various parts in the accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale.

[0030] The specific implementation of the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and examples.

[0031] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of a broadcasting and television network system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The broadcasting and television network system 100 includes a signal source 101, a receiving device 106, video routing devices 102 and 105, video conversion devices 103 and 104, network switches 110 and 120, and a network monitoring device 130 for monitoring the network switches and video devices.

[0032] In this embodiment, the signal forwarding process of video data is explained by taking the network communication between the broadcasting and television production system and the broadcasting system as an example.

[0033] The signal source 101 provides a local video signal in a first signal format. The signal source 101 is, for example, a camera for live shooting programs, a satellite ground station for receiving satellite TV programs, or a local or cloud storage server for storing video programs. Depending on the signal source, the first signal format may be an uncompressed digital video signal or a compressed digital video signal. For example, the signal output by the camera is an SDI signal (an uncompressed digital video signal), the signal received by the satellite ground station is a TS signal (a compressed digital video signal), and the file format stored in the local or cloud storage server is a compressed file format such as MP4 or MKV.

[0034] The video routing device 102 transmits the local video signal to the next-level signal processing workstation via the selected signal path. When the local video signal is an SDI signal, the video routing device 102 is, for example, an SDI matrix. The video routing device 102 supports unidirectional signal transmission and path switching of multiple channels. For example, the video routing device model KODI Video Router 3000 manufactured by Dalian Kodi Video Technology Co., Ltd. can support path switching from 16 input sources to 16 output channels.

[0035] In the radio and television production system, the local video signal is clipped and edited, and then the content and technology are reviewed, and the copyright mark is added to form a video signal of the program content.

[0036] The video conversion device 103 converts the video signal of the program content into an IP signal. For example, the video signal of the program content is an uncompressed SDI signal, and the IP signal is a SMPTE 2110 signal that complies with the Internet Protocol (IP). For example, the video signal of the program content is encoded and divided into multiple data packets to generate an IP signal that is easy to transmit via an IP network, wherein the SMPTE 2110 signal is generated according to the IP signal broadcasting television standard established by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). Unlike traditional SDI signals, SMPTE 2110 signals are specifically used to transmit professional-grade uncompressed video data in IP networks.

[0037] The video conversion device 103 can support bidirectional video conversion of a single channel or multiple channels. For example, the conversion device model 2110 IP Converter 3x3G manufactured by Blackmagic Design can support 3 channels, each of which can be configured to convert SDI video into IP signals, or vice versa. In the network system of the broadcasting and television production system and the broadcasting and television playback system, the broadcasting and television production system is used to send program content, wherein the video conversion device 103 is configured to convert the SDI signal of the program content into an IP signal.

[0038] The broadcasting and television production system forwards the signal of the program content to the broadcasting and television playing system via the IP sub-network. The IP sub-network includes network switches 110 and 120, and the Internet or a local area network connecting the network switches 110 and 120.

[0039] The network switches 110 and 120 are one of the core switching devices in the IP subnetwork, responsible for forwarding data packets between multiple network nodes. Its topology is usually a star or tree topology, depending on the network scale and application scenario. In the star topology, the network switch 110 acts as a central node, connecting multiple terminal devices or other node devices, such as servers and workstations. In the tree topology, the network switches 110 and 120 can be located in network structures at different levels, including multiple switches forming a multi-level network. In an IP network structure that supports multiple paths, the network switches 110 and 120 use a multi-path selection mechanism to ensure efficient forwarding of data packets, and reasonably distribute traffic to multiple paths, thereby sharing the network load. This method effectively improves the utilization of network resources to prevent overload of a single path.

[0040] The broadcasting and television broadcasting system receives program content via the broadcasting and television network system. In the broadcasting and television broadcasting system, the video conversion device 104 converts the IP signal of the program content into a local video signal of the program content. For example, the local video signal is an uncompressed SDI signal, and the IP signal is a SMPTE 2110 signal that complies with the Internet Protocol (IP). The video conversion device 104 can support bidirectional signal transmission of a single or multiple channels. In the network system of the broadcasting and television production system and the broadcasting and television broadcasting system, the broadcasting and television broadcasting system is used to receive program content, and the video conversion device 104 is configured to convert the IP signal of the program content into an SDI signal.

[0041] The video routing device 105 transmits the program video signal via the selected signal path to the next-stage receiving device 106. When the program video signal is an SDI signal, the video routing device 105 is, for example, an SDI matrix. The video routing device 105 supports unidirectional signal transmission and path switching of multiple channels.

[0042] In the broadcast and television production system, the receiving device 106 arranges the program content into a program broadcast plan, reasonably arranges advertising time in the program, and broadcasts the program content according to the broadcast plan.

[0043] Different from the existing broadcasting and television network system, the broadcasting and television network system according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes a network monitoring device 130. The network monitoring device 130 not only monitors the network switch of the IP subnet, but also monitors the video devices in the video subnet, including the video conversion devices 103 and 104, and the video routing devices 102 and 105. According to the connection status and port information of the network switch and the channel attributes of the video device, the topology structure of the entire hybrid network is constructed.

[0044] When the devices in the hybrid network change, the network monitoring device 130 can automatically sense and rebuild the topology to improve the stability, scalability and flexibility of the hybrid network.

[0045] In this embodiment, the signal forwarding process of video data is described by taking the network communication between the radio and television production system and the broadcasting system as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. There are multiple distributed video processing nodes or workstations inside the radio and television production system or inside the radio and television broadcasting system. The above-mentioned communication network system and signal forwarding process also exist between multiple nodes or workstations working in collaboration, thereby achieving more efficient content production and broadcasting management.

[0046] Figure 2The hybrid network topology of a broadcasting and television playing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The network topology of the broadcasting and television playing system is a hybrid network of an IP sub-network and a video sub-network, and multiple source signals of different signal formats can be received and processed via the IP sub-network, for example, multiple TS signals and multiple SMPTE 2110 signals.

[0047] See also Figure 2 The IP sub-network of the broadcasting and television playing system includes a network switch 120 and an encoder 125. A video conversion device is included in the IP sub-network to support multiple source signals of different signal formats. If the source signal is a TS signal, the TS signal can be directly forwarded in the IP sub-network. Alternatively, the encoder 125 is used to convert the TS video into a SMPTE 2110 signal, and then the SMPTE 2110 signal is forwarded.

[0048] The network switch 120 in the broadcasting and television playing system adopts a tree topology, and a switch system is composed of multiple switches at different levels, including IGMP switch machines 121 to 124 and SDN switches 131 to 136.

[0049] SDN switches 131 to 136 are constructed using Leaf (spine) and Spine (leaf) topologies, including SDN switches 131 to 134 used as Spine switches, and SDN switches 135 and 136 used as Leaf switches. Spine switches are core switches in data center networks, and are usually used to build high-performance, scalable network architectures. They have high bandwidth and low latency characteristics, are used to connect multiple Leaf switches, and provide horizontal high-speed data transmission and forwarding functions. Leaf switches are the next-level switches connected to the Spine switch. As the entry point for connecting servers and other node devices, Leaf switches usually have more ports and support the connection of multiple servers and multiple node devices.

[0050] The IGMP switches 121 to 124 serve as access switches. The access switch is a switch at the lowest level connected to the leaf switch and is used to directly connect user devices and terminal devices.

[0051] In the above switch system, select SDN switches as spine switches and leaf switches, and select IGMP switches as access switches. SDN switches support centralized network control and can define network traffic through software, improving network flexibility and programmability, which is essential for dynamic and scalable data center environments. IGMP switches support multicast traffic management, which is very important for application scenarios that require efficient distribution of multimedia content or large-scale multicast communications.

[0052] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 The video sub-network of the broadcasting and television playing system includes a video conversion device 104, a video routing device 105, and a receiving device 106. In this embodiment, the local video signal in the video sub-network is an SDI signal. The video conversion device 104, the video routing device 105, and the receiving device 106 are an IPG (IP Gateway) device, an SDI matrix, and an SDI receiving device, respectively.

[0053] During the broadcasting process of the radio and television broadcasting system, the staff only needs to select a source signal and a destination signal to automatically calculate the entire link of signal transmission and perform operations on it. The background management system will automatically set parameters for each device node according to the link, send flow tables to the SDN switch, and push and pull streams to the IGMP switch, so that the signal can be quickly transmitted from the source to the destination department that needs the signal.

[0054] Figure 3 Show Figure 2 An example of a signal forwarding path in the network topology shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the master control department of the radio and television broadcasting system needs to retrieve an external TS signal to broadcast program content.

[0055] After selecting the source signal and the destination device, the background management system calculates the signal forwarding path according to the multi-path selection mechanism. During the path calculation process, it is determined whether it is necessary to pass through the signal conversion device according to the signal format. Since the source signal is a TS signal, in this example, the encoder 125 is used to convert the TS signal into a SMPTE 2110 signal. In the IP subnet, the signal forwarding path is sequentially through the IGMP switch 121, the encoder 125, and the SDN switches 135 and 136. The SDN switches 135 and 136 provide a dual-path forwarding path to share the network load. After entering the video subnet, the video conversion device 104 receives the IP signal and converts the IP signal into an SDI signal, and then the SDI signal forwarding path reaches the receiving device 106 via the video routing device 105.

[0056] Figure 4 A schematic block diagram of a hybrid network background management system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0057] The backend management system 10 is used to Figure 3 After selecting the signal source 101 and the receiving device 106, the background management system 10 calculates the signal forwarding path according to the multi-path selection mechanism.

[0058] The backend management system 10 includes a network monitoring device 11, a path calculation device 12, and a path scheduling device 13. The backend management system 10 is, for example, an independent network server, or a specific application program on the network server.

[0059] The network monitoring device 11 is connected to the video devices in the video sub-network and the video devices and switches in the IP sub-network. As described above, the video devices in the IP sub-network are, for example, encoders for converting video signals in one signal format (e.g., TS signals) into video signals in another signal format (e.g., SMPTE 2110 signals).

[0060] The switches and video devices in the IP subnet are connected in the IP subnet, so the network monitoring device 11 can access the switches in the IP subnet through the IP address. The management ports of some video devices (e.g., SDI converters) in the video subnet are connected in the IP subnet, so the network monitoring device 11 can access some video devices in the video subnet through the IP address. The management ports of other video devices (e.g., SDI matrix) in the video subnet need to be connected to the network monitoring device 11 via a dedicated serial interface, so the network monitoring device 11 can access other video devices in the video subnet through the serial interface.

[0061] In an alternative embodiment, the network interface of the video device (e.g., video routing device) in the video sub-network is directly connected to the IP sub-network. In another alternative embodiment, the serial interface of the video device is connected to the IP sub-network via a serial port server. Thus, the network monitoring device 11 can access all video devices in the video sub-network through IP addresses to achieve distributed configuration and remote management of all video devices in the video sub-network.

[0062] The network monitoring device 11 automatically monitors multiple switches and multiple video devices in the hybrid network. For example, the network monitoring device 11 scans the video devices in the entire network through the LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol) protocol every 5 seconds to obtain the connection status and port information of the switch, as well as the channel attributes of the video device. In the case where there is a local video device in the hybrid network, the network monitoring device 11 obtains the channel attributes of the video device via the serial interface.

[0063] Furthermore, the network monitoring device 11 can determine the online status and connection relationship of the node device, as well as the online status, channel occupancy and signal conversion direction of the video device based on the connection status and port information of the network switch and the channel attributes of the video device. The network monitoring device 11 constructs the topology of the hybrid network based on the scanned results, and compares the constructed network topology with the existing network topology, so as to know whether a new device in the topology is connected to the network or a device has left the network topology.

[0064] An important aspect in constructing the topology of a hybrid network is to identify the signal conversion direction of the signal conversion device. According to the signal conversion direction of the video conversion device, the subnetwork type of the input end and the output end of the video conversion device can be identified. In the case where the subnetwork type of the input end and the output end of the video conversion device are both IP subnetworks, different signal formats of the input end and the output end of the video conversion device can be identified.

[0065] The path calculation device 12 calculates the optimized full-path signal forwarding path according to the network topology structure constructed and updated by the network monitoring device 11. After the user selects the source signal and the destination device, the path calculation device 12 in the background management system 10 obtains the source signal format of the signal source and the target signal format of the destination device. The path calculation device 12 also obtains the network topology of the hybrid network from the network monitoring device 11, and obtains the node position of the signal source in the network topology and the node position of the destination device in the network topology according to the signal source identifier and the device identifier.

[0066] Further, the path calculation device 12 selects a signal conversion scheme according to the source signal format and the target signal format. Figure 3 , determine whether it needs to go through a signal conversion device based on the source signal format and the target signal format.

[0067] In this example, the source signal is a TS signal and the target signal is an SDI signal. The signal conversion scheme includes two signal conversions, namely, converting the first IP signal in the IP subnetwork into the second IP signal, and converting the second IP signal in the video subnetwork into the SDI signal. The first video conversion device is an encoder 125, which is used to convert the TS signal into a SMPTE 2110 signal, and the second video conversion device is an IPG (IP Gateway) device 104, which is used to convert the SMPTE 2110 signal into an SDI signal.

[0068] Furthermore, the path calculation device 12 uses the video conversion device as a segment node, optimizes the segmented signal forwarding path from the signal source to the target device in the network topology, and merges the segmented signal forwarding paths, thereby establishing a full-link signal forwarding path from the signal source to the target device.

[0069] In this example, the path calculation device 12 performs signal segmentation according to the signal conversion scheme, which is a first segment for forwarding TS signals, a second segment for forwarding SMPTE 2110 signals, and a third segment for forwarding SDI signals, wherein the first segment and the second segment are located in the IP subnet, and the third segment is located in the video subnet. In the first segment, the signal forwarding path is to reach the encoder 125 via the IGMP switch 121, in the second segment, the signal forwarding path starts from the encoder 125 and reaches the video conversion device 104 via the DN switches 135 and 136, and in the third segment, the signal forwarding path starts from the video conversion device 104 and reaches the receiving device 106 via the video routing device 105.

[0070] Furthermore, the path calculation device 12 applies the newly connected node device to the path selection strategy to improve the network forwarding performance according to the online status of the node device, and deletes the disconnected node device from the path selection strategy to improve the signal stability.

[0071] For hybrid networks, different path selection strategies are used for different signal formats in different sub-networks. Figure 2 In the hybrid network topology shown, in the video subnetwork, the video router 105 provides multiple signal forwarding paths to improve the configuration flexibility of the video workstation; in the IP subnetwork, the input and output ends of the encoder 125 are TS signals and SMPTE 2110 signals respectively, and different signal sources share the encoder 125 for centralized video conversion to reduce system costs. Figure 2 In the hybrid network topology shown, in the IP subnet, SDN switches 135 and 136 provide a dual-path forwarding path to share the network load.

[0072] Furthermore, the path scheduling device 13 applies the signal forwarding path calculated by the path calculation device to the network switches and video devices in the hybrid network, so that the network switches and video devices in the hybrid network send the source signal to the target device according to the specified signal forwarding path.

[0073] Figure 5 The flowchart of the signal forwarding path calculation method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The signal forwarding path calculation method is used in a radio and television production system and / or a broadcasting system.

[0074] The radio and television production system and / or broadcasting system has the following features: Figure 2The hybrid network topology shown includes a video subnet and an IP subnet. The signal forwarding path calculation method is used to establish a full-link signal forwarding path from a signal source to a target device. The full-link signal forwarding path is a signal path from a signal source to a target device via multiple node devices.

[0075] The following describes in detail the various steps of the signal forwarding path calculation method with reference to the network topology shown in FIG. 2 .

[0076] The signal forwarding path calculation method includes steps S01 to S09.

[0077] In steps S01 and S02, the node position and source signal format of the signal source, and the node position and target signal format of the target device are acquired.

[0078] After the user selects the source signal and the destination device, the path calculation device 12 in the background management system 10 obtains the source signal format of the signal source and the target signal format of the destination device. In this example, the signal source is the TS signal 121 and the destination device is the receiving device 106 for receiving the SDI signal.

[0079] The path calculation device 12 also obtains the network topology of the hybrid network from the network monitoring device 12 and obtains the node position of the signal source in the network topology and the node position of the target device in the network topology according to the signal source identification of the TS signal 121 and the device identification of the receiving device 106 .

[0080] In step S03, a signal conversion scheme is selected according to the source signal format and the target signal format.

[0081] See also Figure 3 , determine whether it needs to go through a signal conversion device based on the source signal format and the target signal format.

[0082] In this example, the source signal is a TS signal and the target signal is an SDI signal. The signal conversion scheme includes two signal conversions, namely, converting the first IP signal in the IP subnetwork into the second IP signal, and converting the second IP signal in the video subnetwork into the SDI signal. The first video conversion device is an encoder 125, which is used to convert the TS signal into a SMPTE 2110 signal, and the second video conversion device is an IPG (IP Gateway) device 104, which is used to convert the SMPTE 2110 signal into an SDI signal.

[0083] In step S04, signal segmentation is performed according to the signal conversion scheme.

[0084] In this example, the full-link signal forwarding path is divided into three signal segments, namely a first segment for forwarding TS signals, a second segment for forwarding SMPTE 2110 signals, and a third segment for forwarding SDI signals, wherein the first segment and the second segment are located in the IP subnet, and the third segment is located in the video subnet.

[0085] In step S05, video signal processing of the signal segment is performed.

[0086] In this example, the video signal processing of the first signal segment includes, for example, video editing, clipping, and synchronization signal processing, and the video signal processing of the third signal segment includes, for example, video duration control and advertisement insertion and combination. For example, the receiving device 106 of the third signal segment is used as a video signal processing device. However, at least one of the first to third signal segments may be used only for signal forwarding without any video signal processing.

[0087] In step S06, a video conversion node is selected.

[0088] In this example, the signal conversion scheme includes two signal conversions, namely, converting the first IP signal in the IP subnet into the second IP signal, and converting the second IP signal in the video subnet into the SDI signal. According to the channel attribute of the video conversion device, its conflict state in the signal forwarding time period is judged, and an available video conversion device is selected.

[0089] If the video conversion device is available during the signal forwarding time period, it is used as an alternative video conversion device. If there are multiple alternative video conversion devices, the video conversion device is selected according to the priority of the multiple video conversion devices. In the broadcasting and television network, the technical requirements for video devices are very high. Important node devices are equipped with primary and backup devices to avoid broadcast accidents due to network errors. The priority of the video conversion device as the main device is higher than that of the video conversion device as the backup device.

[0090] In this example, the first video conversion device is the encoder 125 for converting the TS signal into the SMPTE 2110 signal, and the second video conversion device is the IPG (IP Gateway) device 104 for converting the SMPTE 2110 signal into the SDI signal.

[0091] In step S06, a video routing node is selected.

[0092] In this example, the video routing node includes a video routing device in the video sub-network and a network switch in the IP sub-network. According to the connection information and port information of the network switch and the channel attribute of the video routing device, the conflict state of the node device in the signal forwarding time period is determined, and the available network switch and video routing device are selected.

[0093] If the network switch and video routing device are available during the signal forwarding time period, they will be used as alternative network switches and video routing devices. If there are multiple alternative network switches, in the IP network structure that supports multiple paths, a multi-path selection mechanism is used to ensure efficient forwarding of data packets and reasonably distribute traffic to multiple paths to share the network load. If there are multiple alternative video routing devices, the video routing device is selected based on the priority of the multiple video routing devices. In the broadcasting and television network, the technical requirements for video equipment are very high, and important node devices are equipped with primary and backup devices to avoid broadcast accidents due to network errors. The priority of the video routing device as the main device is higher than that of the video routing device as the backup device.

[0094] In step S08, it is determined whether there is a next signal segment. If yes, it returns to step S05 and continues to select the video conversion node and video routing node of the next signal segment until all segmented signal forwarding paths are obtained. If no, it executes step S09 to merge all segmented signal forwarding paths to establish a full-link signal forwarding path.

[0095] In this example, the signal forwarding path of the first segment is via the IGMP switch 121 to the encoder 125, the signal forwarding path of the second segment starts from the encoder 125 and reaches the video conversion device 104 via the DN switchers 135 and 136, and the signal forwarding path of the third segment starts from the video conversion device 104 and reaches the receiving device 106 via the video routing device 105.

[0096] According to the embodiments of the present invention as described above, these embodiments do not describe all the details in detail, nor do they limit the invention to the specific embodiments described. Obviously, many modifications and changes can be made based on the above description. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments in order to better explain the principles and practical applications of the present invention, so that those skilled in the art can make good use of the present invention and the modified use based on the present invention. The present invention is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A signal forwarding path calculation method for a broadcasting and television system, comprising: Obtain the node position of the signal source in the network topology and the source signal format; Obtain the node position of the target device in the network topology and the target signal format; Selecting a signal conversion scheme according to the source signal format and the target signal format; According to the signal conversion scheme, generating a segmented signal forwarding path from the signal source to the target device in the network topology; as well as The segmented signal forwarding paths are merged to establish a full-link signal forwarding path from the signal source to the target device.

2. The signal forwarding path calculation method according to claim 1, wherein: The broadcasting and television system has a topological structure of a hybrid network, which includes a video subnetwork and an IP subnetwork. The full-link signal forwarding path is a signal path from the signal source to the target device via multiple node devices.

3. The signal forwarding path calculation method according to claim 2, wherein: The node devices of the video sub-network include video routing devices and video conversion devices, and the node devices of the IP sub-network include network switches and video conversion devices.

4. The signal forwarding path calculation method according to claim 3, wherein: The video conversion device is used for signal conversion between a first signal format and a second signal format, and the video routing device is used for transmitting the video signal from the first input terminal to the selected first output terminal.

5. The signal forwarding path calculation method according to claim 3, wherein: The signal conversion scheme includes an intermediate signal format between a source signal format and a target signal format, and a signal forwarding time period.

6. The signal forwarding path calculation method according to claim 5, wherein: When generating a segmented signal forwarding path, the conflict state of the node device in the signal forwarding time period is determined according to the connection information and port information of the network switch and the channel attributes of the video routing device and the video conversion device.

7. The signal forwarding path calculation method according to claim 5, wherein: The conflict state of the node device in the signal forwarding time period is determined according to the port bandwidth and traffic load of the switch.

8. The signal forwarding path calculation method according to claim 5, wherein: The conflict state of the node device in the signal forwarding time period is determined according to the channel usage state of the video conversion device.

9. The signal forwarding path calculation method according to claim 5, wherein: When generating a segmented signal forwarding path, if there are multiple available node devices, a node device of the segmented signal forwarding path is selected according to the priorities of the multiple node devices.

10. A hybrid network path calculation device, used to execute the hybrid network signal forwarding path calculation method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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