Apparatus and method for distributing broadcast services over communication network

Abstract

To provide a broadcast service communication network distribution device, a method, and a program for distributing a broadcast service over a network in a simple manner.SOLUTION: A broadcaster subsystem 100 includes an IP transmitting device, and transmits the TS stream of a broadcast service before uplinking to an IP receiving device 210 of a communication network distribution subsystem 200 via an IP network. In the communication network distribution subsystem 200, the video / audio transcoding unit reconstructs the received IP stream into the TS stream of the broadcast service, demultiplexes it into a video TS stream and an audio TS stream, and converts the video stream and audio stream into standard HD mode and stereo mode, and converts them into streaming format files, and the video / audio distribution unit distributes them to mobile terminals by HTTP long polling.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a broadcast service communication network distribution technique for distributing television broadcast services using a communication network. [Background technology]

[0002] It is desired that broadcasting companies simultaneously distribute video and audio contents provided by broadcasting services using communication networks. However, when broadcasting companies prepare distribution data for communication networks at each business location, the cost burden becomes large. In addition, it is difficult to uniformly provide the various services and qualities provided by broadcasting services over communication networks. For example, communication network distribution services using streaming methods conforming to the HTTP protocol have been widely used in the past. Since these distribution services are intended for distribution on an event or program basis, it is difficult to specify a channel for continuous distribution of multiple programs that may have different qualities. A video distribution service based on HLS (HTTP Live Streaming, Apple Inc., USA) prepares a playlist file (e.g., an m3u8 file) and one or more video segment files (MPEG2-TS segment files) as shown in FIG. 25. In the example of FIG. 25, multiple (two) alternative playlists with different resolutions can be selected using a master index file. There may be only one playlist. The alternative playlist (playlist) is rewritten and transmitted repeatedly. The viewing client refers to the playlist, sequentially extracts the video segment files as shown in FIG. 25, and plays the video (FIG. 26). However, it does not support continuous viewing of programs (videos) with different resolutions or formats, or programs with different audio standards.

[0003] It is desirable to deliver broadcast services reliably through communication networks even when standards or resolutions differ.

[0004] In addition, a patent document related to this invention is JP 2018-188891 A of the present applicant.

[0005] The above-mentioned prior art and its problems are described only to explain a part of the background of the present invention, and it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned prior art and problems. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-188891 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] This invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to realize a scheme suitable for simultaneously distributing video and audio content provided by broadcasting services via a communications network. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the configurations described in the claims. Prior to describing the invention in detail, a supplementary description will be given of the technology related to the invention described in the claims.

[0009] That is, according to one aspect of the technology related to the present invention, a broadcast service communication network distribution device includes: reconstruction means for receiving a transmission stream obtained by converting a TS stream of a broadcast service for communication network transmission via the communication network, and reconstructing the TS stream of the broadcast service from the transmission stream; characteristic determination means for determining characteristics of the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means; conversion means for IP distribution for converting a video stream and an audio stream included in the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means into a video stream in a format for IP distribution; and transmission means for transmitting the video stream in the IP distribution format generated by the conversion means for IP distribution to a client terminal via the communication network in response to a request from a client terminal on the communication network; the conversion means for IP distribution is configured to generate the video stream in the IP distribution format in a standard format based on the characteristics determined by the characteristic determination means. The video stream in the IP distribution format may have a video stream and an audio stream separately. The same applies below.

[0010] According to this configuration, a video stream in a format for IP distribution is generated in a standard manner, making it possible to handle a wide variety of broadcast programs.

[0011] In this configuration, the audio mode in the video stream in the IP distribution format generated in the standard format may be a stereo audio mode.

[0012] In this configuration, the video mode in the moving image stream in the IP distribution format generated in the standard format may be high-definition mode.

[0013] In this configuration, the conversion means for IP distribution may generate, from the TS stream of the broadcast service, a number of moving image streams in the IP distribution format corresponding to N (N is an integer of 2 or more) organized channels.

[0014] In this configuration, the N organization channels are two organization channels, and even if the TS stream of the broadcast service includes only one organization channel, a number of video streams in the IP distribution format corresponding to the two organization channels may be generated.

[0015] In this configuration, the conversion means for IP distribution may generate a number of moving image streams in the format for IP distribution corresponding to two modes, that is, main audio and secondary audio.

[0016] In this configuration, the conversion means for IP distribution may generate a number of moving image streams in the IP distribution format corresponding to the two modes even if the TS stream of the broadcast service does not include secondary audio.

[0017] In this configuration, the conversion means for IP distribution may generate a number of moving image streams in the format for IP distribution according to two viewing selections, that is, whether to display subtitles or not.

[0018] In this configuration, the conversion means for IP distribution may generate a number of moving image streams in the IP distribution format corresponding to the two viewing selection numbers even if the TS stream of the broadcast service does not include subtitle data.

[0019] In this arrangement, the video stream may comprise a series of video files that are played in sequence by an index file.

[0020] In this configuration, the moving picture stream in the IP distribution format may be a streaming moving picture stream.

[0021] In this configuration, the streaming method is a streaming method that complies with the HTTP protocol. For example, it may be HLS (HTTP Live Streaming, Apple), MPEG-DASH, Smooth Streaming (Microsoft), or HTTP Dynamic Streaming (Adobe Systems). Methods other than HTTP streaming, such as RTS (Real Time Streaming Protocol) or RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol), may also be adopted.

[0022] In this configuration, the transport stream may be a TS stream of the broadcast service that has been IP packetized.

[0023] In this configuration, the IP distribution conversion means may include: demultiplexing means for demultiplexing the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means to generate a video stream and an audio stream; decoding means for decoding the video stream and the audio stream output from the demultiplexing means to generate a video signal and an audio signal; standard mode conversion means for converting the video signal and audio signal into a standard mode; and encoding means for encoding the standard mode video signal and audio signal to generate a video stream in the IP distribution format.

[0024] In this configuration, the video stream in the IP distribution format generated in the standard format may include a selectable set of video streams.

[0025] In this configuration, one set of the selectable sets of video streams may include subtitle display, and the other set of video streams may not include subtitle display.

[0026] According to another aspect of the technology related to the present invention, a broadcast service communication network distribution device includes: reconstruction means for receiving, via a communication network, a transmission stream obtained by converting a TS stream of a broadcast service for transmission over a communication network, and reconstructing the TS stream of the broadcast service from the transmission stream; conversion means for IP distribution for converting a video stream and an audio stream included in the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means into a video stream in a format for IP distribution; and transmission means for transmitting the video stream in the IP distribution format generated by the conversion means for IP distribution to a client terminal via the communication network in response to a request from the client terminal on the communication network; and when the TS stream of the broadcast service includes subtitle data, the conversion means for IP distribution is configured to generate a video stream in the IP distribution format from the video stream and audio stream generated by the video / audio stream generation means, and to generate another video stream in the IP distribution format from a video stream of a composite video in which subtitles based on the subtitle data are added to the video of the video stream and the audio stream.

[0027] In this configuration, it becomes possible to handle the subtitle data easily.

[0028] According to another aspect of the technology related to the present invention, a broadcast service communication network distribution device includes: a reconstruction means for receiving, via a communication network, a transmission stream obtained by converting a TS stream of a broadcast service for transmission over a communication network, and reconstructing the TS stream of the broadcast service from the transmission stream; a conversion means for IP distribution for converting a video stream and an audio stream contained in the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means into a video stream in a format for IP distribution; and a transmission means for transmitting the video stream in the IP distribution format generated by the conversion means for IP distribution to a client terminal via the communication network in response to a request from the client terminal on the communication network; the conversion means for IP distribution is configured to receive information specifying a start and end of a time interval and alternative content, and to replace the video stream in the IP distribution format with the alternative content in the section specified by the start and end.

[0029] This configuration makes it possible to easily deal with commercials and copyright issues in broadcasting services.

[0030] In this configuration, the alternative content may be a video stream segment and an audio stream segment, or a still image and a predetermined sound.

[0031] In this configuration, the conversion means for IP distribution has a demultiplexing means for demultiplexing the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means to generate a video stream and an audio stream, and may use alternative content in place of the video signal and audio signal decoded from the video stream and audio stream in the section defined by the start and end dates.

[0032] In this configuration, the start and end of the time interval are displayed in year, month, day, hour, minute and second, and may be compared with the time displayed in year, month, day, hour, minute and second based on the time information displayed in year, month, day, hour, minute and second of the time offset table and a clock conforming to the TS stream of the broadcast service.

[0033] According to another aspect of the technology related to the present invention, a broadcast service communication network distribution device is configured to have: a reconstruction means for receiving, via a communication network, a transmission stream obtained by converting a TS stream of a broadcast service for transmission through a communication network, and reconstructing the TS stream of the broadcast service from the transmission stream; a conversion means for IP distribution for converting a video stream and an audio stream contained in the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means into a video stream in a format for IP distribution; a transmission means for transmitting the video stream in the format for IP distribution generated by the conversion means for IP distribution to a client terminal via the communication network in response to a request from the client terminal on the communication network; and a control information supplying means for receiving information specifying the start and end of a time interval and alternative content, and supplying control information to the client device so as to replace the section defined by the start and end of the video stream with the video stream segment.

[0034] This configuration makes it possible to easily deal with commercials and copyright issues in broadcasting services.

[0035] According to another aspect of the technology related to the present invention, a client terminal connected to the broadcast service communication network distribution device via a communication network: has a video stream playback means for receiving and playing the video stream in the IP distribution format from the transmission means of the broadcast service communication network distribution device; the video stream playback means is configured to receive from the control information supply means of the broadcast service communication network distribution device and play the alternative content in place of the video stream at a playback time corresponding to the start and end of the time interval.

[0036] This configuration makes it possible to easily deal with commercials and copyright issues in broadcasting services.

[0037] In this configuration, the format for the IP distribution is HLS (HTTP Live Streaming, Apple Inc., both trademarks), and the video stream playback means may play the alternative content instead of the video stream in accordance with the EXT-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME of the video stream file.

[0038] According to another aspect of the technique related to the present invention, a broadcast service communication network distribution device includes: reconstruction means for receiving, via a communication network, a transmission stream obtained by converting a TS stream of a broadcast service for transmission over a communication network, and reconstructing the TS stream of the broadcast service from the transmission stream; conversion means for IP distribution for converting a video stream and an audio stream included in the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means into a video stream in a format for IP distribution; transmission means for transmitting the video stream in the IP distribution format generated by the conversion means for IP distribution to a client terminal on the communication network via the communication network in response to a request from the client terminal; and and an alternative content distribution control means for controlling so that alternative content to be replaced by the video stream or audio stream during a predetermined period of time is transmitted to the client terminal via the network; the alternative content distribution control means has: an index file storage means for storing an index file which makes insertion control information accessible on a replacement operation basis; and a means for transmitting the index file to the client terminal via the network in response to polling from the client terminal; and the client terminal uses the insertion control information to obtain the alternative content from a specified alternative content storage means and replaces the video stream and the audio stream with the alternative content for a predetermined period of time.

[0039] This configuration makes it possible to easily deal with commercials and copyright issues in broadcasting services.

[0040] According to another aspect of the technology related to the present invention, a client terminal connectable to a network is composed of: a video / audio stream receiving means for receiving, from a transmitting device, a video / audio stream extracted from a broadcast stream and transmitted via the network in a streaming manner; and an alternative content receiving means for receiving, via the network, alternative content stored in an alternative content storage means; the alternative content receiving means has: an index file receiving means for receiving, from the transmitting device by polling, an index file that makes the alternative content stored in the alternative content storage means accessible on a replacement operation basis; and a means for receiving the alternative content stored in the alternative content storage means on a replacement operation basis, using the index file received by the index file receiving means.

[0041] In this configuration, the terminal is typically a mobile terminal or a mobile communication terminal that communicates based on mobile communication, but may be a fixed terminal. The mobile terminal or the mobile communication terminal is typically a mobile phone, but may be any device including a mobile computer, a tablet computer, a media player, a personal digital assistant, and a combination of two or more of these products.

[0042] This configuration makes it possible to easily deal with commercials and copyright issues in broadcasting services.

[0043] This invention can be realized not only as an apparatus or system, but also as a method. Of course, a part of such an invention can be configured as software. Furthermore, software products used to cause a computer to execute such software are naturally included in the technical scope of this invention.

[0044] Various aspects of the invention are set forth in the claims and are further illustrated by the following examples. Effect of the Invention

[0045] According to this invention, a video stream in a format for IP distribution is generated in a standard manner, making it possible to handle a wide variety of broadcast programs. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0046] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an environment in which an IP distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention is executed. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an overview of the IP distribution system of FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a video / audio transcoding unit 220 of FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a standard output. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram illustrating the configuration of an alternative video / audio transcoding unit 220A. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an alternative standard output. [Figure 7] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the mobile terminal of FIG. 1. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the mobile terminal of FIG. [Figure 9] 2 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the mobile terminal of FIG. 1. [Figure 10] 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a channel selection screen of the video / audio stream playback unit 360. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram for explaining an overview of an IP distribution system according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the subtitle data reproducing unit 370 in FIG. 11. [Figure 13] 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the subtitle data reproducing unit 370 in FIG. 11. [Figure 14] 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the subtitle data reproduction unit 370 in FIG. 11 to obtain a corrected PCR. FIG. [Figure 15]FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a message management file. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating subtitle data. [Figure 17] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an alternative configuration of the IP distribution system of FIG. [Figure 18] 18 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a video / audio transcoding unit 220B of FIG. 17. [Figure 19] 19 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the video / audio transcoding unit 220B in FIG. 18. [Figure 20] 13 is a diagram illustrating the operation of an inserted moving image playback unit 380 of the mobile terminal 300. FIG. [Figure 21] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a processing flow of subtitle data. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating messages in a message management file. [Figure 23] 13 is a diagram for explaining the entity types of messages in a message management file. FIG. [Figure 24] 19 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an insertion control unit 270 in FIG. 18. [Diagram 25] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a playlist and media segment files for network distribution in accordance with HTTP. [Figure 26] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of video distribution over a network in accordance with HTTP. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0047] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

[0048] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention applied to a digital television distribution system that performs simultaneous IP distribution of digital television broadcasts (terrestrial digital television broadcasts, BS, and CS digital television broadcasts). In this figure, a broadcaster subsystem 100 is a subsystem operated by a basic broadcaster, which acquires the TS stream of a broadcast service before uplinking and transmits it to a communication network distribution subsystem 200 using a communication network 500 (Internet) or a specified line 700. The communication network distribution subsystem 200 may be operated by the basic broadcaster or a third party, and this subsystem 200 demultiplexes the transmitted TS stream to acquire a video / audio stream (e.g., MPEG-2 TS), transcodes the video / audio stream into a specified format (HLS, MPEG-DASH, etc.) for IP redistribution, and distributes it to a mobile terminal 300. The communication network distribution subsystem 200 is connected to a communication network 500, typically the Internet. At least a part of the communication network 500 may be configured as a CDN (content delivery network) service. The mobile terminal 300 is connected to the communication network 500 via a gateway 400 of a mobile communication carrier. An authentication server 600 may be connected to the communication network 500 to authenticate requests from the mobile terminal 300 for IP distribution services. The communication network distribution subsystem 200 is provided at a site different from that of the broadcaster subsystem 100 of the core broadcaster. The communication network distribution subsystem 200 may provide services to broadcaster subsystems at other business locations or to broadcaster subsystems of different core broadcasters via the communication network 500, and may be operated efficiently as a so-called cloud system using communication lines from multiple locations with limited system resources. The line 700 may be an optical fiber transmission line or an SDI transmission line. The broadcaster subsystem 100 and the communication network distribution subsystem 200 may each be composed of a server computer.

[0049] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the configuration of the main parts of the broadcaster subsystem 100, the communication network distribution subsystem 200, and the mobile terminal 300, and other examples of the configuration may be adopted. The subsystems 100 and 200 may be configured by appropriately combining server devices (processors) and the like. In FIG. 2, the broadcaster subsystem 100 has a broadcast service TS stream output unit 110, an uplink unit 120, an IP transmission device 130, and the like. The broadcast service TS stream output unit 110 outputs a broadcast service TS stream that is multiplexed with a video stream, an audio stream, and data. The uplink unit 120 transmits and modulates the broadcast service TS stream and broadcasts it via a transmission antenna. The IP transmission device 130 receives the broadcast service TS stream, converts it into IP packets, and transmits the broadcast service TS stream to the communication network distribution subsystem 200 via a communication network using an IP protocol.

[0050] The communication network delivery subsystem 200 includes an IP receiving device 210, a video / audio transcoding unit 220, and a video / audio delivery unit 230. The IP receiving device 210 receives IP packets transmitted from the IP transmitting device 130 of the broadcasting service subsystem 100 and reconstructs the TS stream of the broadcasting service. The IP transmission of the TS stream is described, for example, in Pro-MPEG Code of Practice #3 release 2, July 2004, "Transmission of Professional MPEG-2 Transport Streams over IP Networks". The video / audio transcoding unit 220 converts the video / audio MPEG-2 TS packets into a streaming file of the HTTP streaming method (typically the HLS method). The video / audio delivery unit 230 delivers the video / audio stream to the mobile terminal 300 by the HTTP streaming method. The video / audio transcoding unit 220 is configured to output the video / audio stream in a predetermined standard format regardless of the configuration of the TS stream of the broadcasting service. A standard configuration has, for example, audio in stereo mode, video in HD mode, and the number of channels being 2. This will be explained later with an example.

[0051] The communications network delivery subsystem 200 may obtain subtitle data from the TS stream of the broadcast service and deliver it to the mobile terminal 300 by, for example, HTTP long polling, as will be described later in an alternative embodiment.

[0052] The mobile terminal 300 displays the video 300 delivered by HTTP streaming on the display unit 300A (FIG. 2). As will be described later, when the subtitle data (300B) is delivered using a message management file transmitted by HTTP long polling, the subtitle data (300B) may be displayed superimposed on the video on the display unit 300A or in a separate display area (see FIG. 9).

[0053] FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the video / audio transcoding unit 220 in FIG. 2. In this figure, the video / audio transcoding unit 220 includes a TS demultiplexing unit 221, a decoding unit 222, a standard mode conversion unit 223, an encoding unit 224, and a TS stream characteristic discrimination unit 225. In FIG. 3, the TS demultiplexing unit 221 demultiplexes the TS stream of the broadcast service to generate a video stream and an audio stream. The decoding unit 222 decodes the MPEG code to generate a video signal and an audio signal. The TS stream characteristic discrimination unit 225 discriminates the characteristics of the TS stream of the broadcast service, the number of channels, the subtitle data, the video mode, the audio mode, and the like. The standard mode conversion unit 223 performs output conversion in a predetermined form, for example, converts the input video signal and the input audio signal, and further performs output in two channels. In this example, the number of outputs is basically two channels, and the video signal and the audio signal of these two channels are supplied to the encoding unit 224. When a video signal and an audio signal in standard mode are input, the standard mode conversion unit 223 may output them as they are. The encoding unit 224 converts the input two-channel video signal and audio signal into a video file in a streaming format, for example, a streaming file in HTTP streaming format (typically HLS format). In the example of FIG. 3, a first video streaming file 226 and a second video streaming file 227 are output. The first video streaming file 226 has video in HD mode and audio in stereo, and the second video streaming file 227 also has video in HD mode and audio in stereo. The standard mode may be another mode, for example, video in SD mode and audio in monaural mode.

[0054] If the TS stream of a broadcasting service contains only one channel, the first video stream and the second video stream will be the same. If the TS stream of a broadcasting service contains two different channels, the first video stream will be a different video stream from the second video stream, each corresponding to a different channel.

[0055] The video / audio transcoder 220 generates a program table 228 that indicates what the multiple video streams are. The program table 228 may indicate which channel the video stream is on. If multiple video streams are available, the selectable group may be identified using, for example, the "EXT-MEDIA" tag in HLS.

[0056] The TS stream characteristic discrimination unit 225 may include a video mode discrimination unit 225A, an audio mode discrimination unit 225B, a multi-channel discrimination unit 225C, etc. The audio mode discrimination unit 225B discriminates the number of audio PES (packetized elementary streams) and the audio mode in each audio PES. When there are multiple audio PESs described in the PMT (program map table), the audio mode discrimination unit 225B determines that there is a secondary audio in addition to the main audio. Furthermore, the audio mode discrimination unit 225B determines the mode as follows based on the contents of "channel_configuration" (3 bits) of "adts_fixed_header" of "adts_frame" in the header part of the audio PES. 1:Monaural 2: Stereo 6:5.1 channel (SS) 0: Dual mono (one audio PES includes main audio and secondary audio)

[0057] If the audio is in mono mode, the left and right stereo elements are made identical. If the audio is in 5.1 channel mode, only the stereo components are used.

[0058] Considering secondary audio, the number of channels of a standard video stream may be four, as shown in Fig. 6(A). In Fig. 6(A), a video stream of a first channel (HD / stereo / primary audio), a video stream of a second channel (HD / stereo / primary audio), a video stream of a first channel (HD / stereo / secondary audio), and a video stream of a second channel (HD / stereo / secondary audio) may be output in a standard form. If there is no secondary audio, all video streams may include overlapping primary audio.

[0059] In the mobile terminal 300, valid programs are displayed based on the information in the program table 228, for example, as shown in FIG. 10(A), and invalid programs (those that overlap with valid programs) may be displayed in gray and cannot be selected, but are not limited to this. In the example of FIG. 10(A), "Channel 01" is selectable, and "Channel 02" is not selectable because of the same content. If the content is not the same, both are selectable. By making a selection, it becomes possible to stream the video file from the destination. In the case of the video stream shown in FIG. 6(A) (four cases), it becomes as shown in FIG. 10(B), and it is possible to select between the main audio and the secondary audio. In this example, too, the gray display means that the programs cannot be selected due to the same content.

[0060] An example configuration of the mobile terminal 300 will be described later in more detail with reference to FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG.

[0061] The video mode discrimination unit 225A judges the video mode such as resolution from the value of "video\encode\format" of "descriptor" included in the PMT, or decodes the MPEG2 video transmitted by the video PES and judges it by referring to the "sequence header" therein. The standard video mode is HD (high definition).

[0062] The multi-channel discrimination unit 225C determines whether there are multiple channels (services) in the TS stream, and if there are two channels, for example, it treats them as two standard video and audio streams. If there is only one channel, it generates two identical video streams. The number of channels can be determined by whether multiple services (PMT) are described in the PAT. Whether two channels have the same content can be determined by EPG (Electronic Program Guide) information and whether the video and audio of each channel are identical.

[0063] Fig. 5 shows an alternative example (220A) of the video / audio transcoding unit 220 described with reference to Fig. 3. In this figure, the video / audio transcoding unit 220A has a TS demultiplexing unit 221, a decoding unit 222, a standard mode conversion unit 223, an encoding unit 224, a TS stream characteristic determination unit 225, a subtitle data extraction unit 231, and a video synthesis unit 229. In this example, when subtitle data is present, a video stream (stereo, HD) of video not including subtitles and a video stream (stereo, HD) of video including subtitles are formed. A video signal including subtitles is generated using the video synthesis unit 229.

[0064] When both video with and without subtitles are included in a standard video stream, the standard video stream will be as shown in Figure 6(B). Taking into account the presence or absence of subtitles, and both main and secondary audio, eight standard video streams may be formed as shown in Figure 6(C).

[0065] An example of the display of the program selection section in the mobile terminal 300 is as shown in Fig. 10(A). When the main audio and secondary audio are separated in the standard format, it will be as shown in Fig. 10(B). The buttons displayed in gray may be disabled as described above, but are not limited to this.

[0066] When multiple playlists are made selectable using the master playlist (master index) previously described in Fig. 25, a desired playlist in one standard format may be specified based on the selection of the program selection unit, and corresponding media segment files may be extracted sequentially based on the desired playlist in one standard format. When viewing a selected playlist, another playlist may be selected using the program selection unit, the standard format specification may be switched, and viewing based on the other playlist may be switched.

[0067] 7 shows an example of a mobile terminal 300, which includes a processing system 310, a memory 320, an input / output subsystem 330, radio frequency circuitry 340, and audio circuitry 350. Each of the components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof, including signal processing integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits, etc., as appropriate. Radio frequency circuitry 340 is used to transmit and receive information over a wireless link or network to other devices, and may include, but is not limited to, antenna systems, RF transceivers, amplifiers, tuners, oscillators, digital signal processors, CODEC chipsets, memory, and other well-known circuitry to perform this function. The radio frequency circuitry 340 can use, but is not limited to, a communication protocol for mobile communication such as time division multiple access (TDMA) or code division multiple access (CDMA), wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g and / or IEEE 802.11N), Bluetooth (registered trademark, IEEE 802.15.1), Wi-MAX (IEEE 802.16), etc. The audio circuitry 350 is coupled to an audio speaker 351 and a microphone 352. The processing system 310 includes a processor 311, a memory controller 312, and a peripheral device interface 313. The memory 320 stores code and data executed by the processor 311. The memory 320 may include any storage device such as RAM, ROM, FLASH, a disk drive, a magnetic tape, etc. The processor 311 executes various software components stored in the memory 320. For example, the software components include an operating system 321, a communication module 322, a contact / motion module 323, a graphics module 324, applications 325, a timer module 326, and a web browser module 327. The applications 325 include a browser, an address book, email, encryption, a location determination function such as a global positioning system (GPS), and a two-dimensional barcode decoder. An Internet-delivered television broadcast viewing application 325A (FIG. 6) in this embodiment is typically implemented as one of the applications 325.The input / output subsystem 330 controls the touch panel 331, etc. In the mobile terminal 300, a function for viewing a television broadcast service distributed by Internet retransmission is implemented as an application. By installing a corresponding application in the memory 320, the mobile terminal 300 is realized as an Internet-distributed television broadcast viewing terminal.

[0068] 8 shows a schematic diagram of the functions realized by Internet-distributed television broadcast viewing application 325A, in which mobile terminal 300 may include functions such as video / audio stream playback unit 360, subtitle data playback unit 370, and inserted video playback unit 380. Subtitle data playback unit 370 allows subtitle data to be operated independently of the video video stream, as in the case of normal digital broadcast services, and will be described later as an alternative embodiment. In this case, a video stream with subtitles (a stream on which subtitles are fixedly superimposed) may or may not be provided.

[0069] The video / audio stream playback unit 360 in Fig. 8 selects a program from a predetermined program guide, and available channels are displayed as shown in Fig. 10(A) and (B), from which a channel to be viewed can be selected to play the video stream. Only available video stream channels may be displayed.

[0070] In this embodiment, a video stream available on a communication network is generated and output in a standard manner, so that programs (videos) with different resolutions and formats and programs with different audio standards can be viewed continuously. In addition, a composite subtitle service can be treated as a normal video stream.

[0071] FIG. 11 shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention, in which a communication network distribution subsystem 200B includes an IP receiving device 210, a video / audio transcoding unit 220, a video / audio distribution unit 230, a subtitle data extraction unit 231, a subtitle data distribution unit 250, a message management file storage unit 260, and the like. As explained above, the video / audio distribution unit 230 transmits a video / audio stream (moving image stream) to the mobile terminal 300 by HTTP streaming. The subtitle data extraction unit 231 extracts subtitle data from a broadcast service TS stream, and the video / audio transcoding unit 220 may include this function. The subtitle data is transmitted to the mobile terminal 300 by HTTP long polling. The distribution of subtitle data (HTTP long polling) will be explained in detail later.

[0072] The broadcaster subsystem 100 or the communication network distribution subsystem 200 stores an index file for managing TS packets of a broadcast TS stream as a message management file in the message management file storage unit 260. Each time a TS packet is received, the broadcaster subsystem 100 or the communication network distribution subsystem 200 creates and manages an index (message entry) as shown in Fig. 15. As for subtitle data, subtitle packets as shown in Fig. 16 are stored in the data storage management unit in their original form, and can be accessed by a path specified by the actual file name attribute of the message.

[0073] The video / audio stream playback unit 360 (FIG. 8) of the mobile terminal 300 decodes the video / audio packet file distributed by the video / audio distribution unit 240 of the communication network distribution subsystem 200 by HTTP streaming, and displays the video in the video viewing area A of the display area of ​​the mobile terminal 300, for example, as shown in FIG. 9. To start watching a television broadcast, a corresponding application is selected and started, and a channel is selected from an on-screen display or the like similar to that of a normal television receiver. Channel switching may be performed based on a swipe. In some cases, an authentication dialogue is executed between the application 325A and an authentication server (not shown). The application 325A can obtain channel information for each of the viewable broadcast channels from the authentication server, for example.

[0074] 8, the subtitle data reproducing unit 370 reproduces synchronization data such as subtitles. The subtitle data reproducing unit 370 obtains synchronization data from the subtitle data distribution unit 250 of the communication network distribution subsystem 200 by HTTP long polling, and displays subtitles, superimposed text, and the like in synchronization with the video and audio streaming. The subtitle data reproducing unit 370 also processes event messages, which are also synchronization data, in synchronization with the video and audio streaming. The BML document contents may be switched by the event messages.

[0075] FIG. 12 explains a corrected PCR generating unit 372 that controls the synchronization timing in the subtitle data reproducing unit 370. In FIG. 12, the subtitle data reproducing unit 370 has a subtitle display unit 371, a corrected PCR generating unit 372, a message management file holding unit 373, a subtitle data holding unit 374, and a polling control unit 375. The corrected PCR generating unit 372 generates a PCR (Program Clock Reference) according to the reproduction status of the video / audio stream reproducing unit 360. The polling control unit 375 polls the subtitle data distributing unit 250 of the communication network delivery subsystem 200, extracts a new entry (message) from the message management file holding unit 260, adds it to the message management file holding unit 373 of the subtitle data reproducing unit 370, and also adds the new subtitle data to the subtitle data holding unit 374. The message management file holding unit 373 and the subtitle data holding unit 374 are adapted to delete entries that are no longer necessary. The message management file holding unit 260 of the communication network delivery subsystem 200 is also adapted to delete entries that are no longer necessary. The subtitle display unit 371 starts displaying subtitles (as well as text superimpositions) by referring to the display timing (PST) of the subtitle packet in the subtitle data storage unit 374 based on the corrected PCR calculated by the corrected PCR generation unit 372, and ends displaying the subtitles by referring to the erasure timing.

[0076] The correction PCR generating unit 372 calculates the difference between the date and time (date and time based on the time of the server that creates the message management file) when a program change (a change in the stream configuration of a broadcast program in one channel) is detected and the date and time of the video and audio stream being played (date and time on the playback time axis, date and time based on the time of the server that performs TS transcoding), calculates the elapsed time from the program change to the date and time on the playback time axis (elapsed time of the PCR), and multiplies this by the resolution of the program reference clock (for example, 90000 / second) to calculate the elapsed clock. Furthermore, the correction PCR generating unit 372 holds the PCR when the program change is detected, and calculates the correction PCR by adding the elapsed clock based on this (FIG. 14). Such a calculation method is shown in FIG. 13(A). Also, a specific calculation example is shown in FIG. 13(B). The upper limit of the PCR is "8589935102". Note that, here, it is assumed that the exact time of the video is set in EXT-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME, and preferably, there is no difference in time between the server that creates the HLS and performs TS transcoding and the server that creates the message management file by one frame. A program change (a change in the stream configuration of a broadcast program on one channel) is detected, for example, by the mobile terminal 300 detecting a change in the value of the version number of a PMT (Program Map Table) packet. In a typical example, "pmt_changed" is a message notifying that the PMT data has changed, and the server's detection time is transcribed into the message execution time in this message. The server also receives the PMT data extracted from the tuner, obtains the PCR from the PCR description location written in the PMT, and transcribs it as additional information in the fourth column of the "pmt_changed" message. When the PMT indicates a program change (a change in the stream configuration of a broadcast program on one channel), the previous message management data may be cleared.

[0077] It is also possible to calculate the difference between the PTS and PCR, convert it to real time by adding the difference to the time the PCR was received, and output this to a message management file, thereby controlling the display and erasure of subtitles in real time rather than based on the PCR clock.

[0078] FIG. 17 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the broadcaster subsystem 100 has an insertion information sending unit 140, which supplies information for replacing commercial video / audio and video / audio infringing copyright with alternative content to the insertion control unit 270 of the communication network distribution subsystem 200. The insertion control unit 270 replaces commercial video / audio and video / audio infringing copyright with alternative content between break points and resume points on a frame-by-frame basis. The break points, resume points, and alternative content are supplied from the insertion information sending unit 140 of the broadcaster subsystem 100. The alternative content may be placed at a predetermined site in advance, or may be supplied simultaneously. The break points and resume points may be determined using PCR and PTS. 17, the replacement process may be performed in the demultiplexer 221, decoder 222, standard mode converter 223, and encoder 224 of the video / audio transcoder 220B of the network distribution subsystem 200. In the configuration example of Fig. 18, the switch 242 in the video / audio transcoder 220B inserts the alternative content from the alternative content input unit 241 based on insertion control information (switching signal) of the insertion controller 270 of the communications network distribution subsystem 200.

[0079] Information for replacing the alternative content (insertion control information: start point, end point, address of the alternative content) may be sent from outside the broadcaster subsystem 100.

[0080] The video stream can have commercials replaced with alternative content as shown in FIG.

[0081] FIG. 24 shows an example of the configuration of the insertion control unit 270. In this example, the upstream system uses insertion control information (organization information) to specify a cut point time for cap control and content replacement processing in units of hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds. A clock time specified by a PTS (presentation time stamp) is specified for each video frame in the TS stream. Based on the program clock value at the timing when the ToT (time offset table) was last received in the TS stream, the time based on the ToT of each frame (format: year, month, day, hour, minute, second, and millisecond, hereinafter also referred to as frame PTS time) is obtained. When frame data is input to the TS stream decoding unit 222, the frame PTS time is saved in a non-destructive auxiliary data area (frame PTS time file management unit 274) attached to each frame. When encoding to a distribution format, the frame time in the non-destructive auxiliary data area is compared with the cut point time to determine whether or not to cut.

[0082] 24, the insertion control section 270 has a structure information file management section 271 , a next structure information entry extraction section 272 , a frame PTS time generation section 273 , a frame PTS time file management section 274 , a frame PTS time extraction section 275 for processing, and a comparison section 276 .

[0083] The organization information file management unit 271 manages insertion information (organization information) files, and the insertion information (organization information) has, for each entry, a specified time (written in the format of YYYY-MM-DDT12:MM:SS:mm+0900 (time difference)), a command, a source address, etc. An entry is formed for each program and alternative content, and the commands include a program command for starting encoding of the program at the specified time, a mask command for starting encoding of a still image (black), and a file command for starting encoding of a specified alternative video, etc. The next organization information entry is sequentially extracted from the organization information management file 271 to the next organization information entry extraction unit 272 in order of earliest entry, and when a comparison is made in the comparison unit 276 of one organization information entry and switching is performed by the switch 242, the next organization information entry is extracted from the organization information management file 271 to the next organization information entry extraction unit 272 to prepare for the next switching.

[0084] On the other hand, the TS stream is supplied to the decoding unit 222 and also to a frame PTS time generating unit 273. The frame PTS time generating unit 273 extracts the ToT from the TS stream, holds the clock at that time, and converts the PTS of the frame to be processed into a frame PTS time in year / month / day / minute / second format (YYYY-MM-DDT12:MM:SS:mm+0900 format) based on the latest ToT and the clock at the time of receiving the latest ToT. This frame PTS time is held and managed in a frame PTS time file managing unit 274. The processing target frame PTS time extracting unit 275 sequentially extracts the frame PTS times for the frames to be processed (encoded), and the comparing unit 276 performs comparison at a frame rate (frame interval). The comparing unit 276 identifies the frame closest to the time of the next organization information entry extracted by the next organization information entry extracting unit 272, and switches the switch 242 at that time (clock).

[0085] In the examples of Figures 17 and 24, the insertion of alternative content is performed by the communications network distribution subsystem 200, but it is also possible to provide an inserted video playback unit 380 in the mobile terminal application 325A as shown by the dashed line in Figure 8, and to perform the introduction operation in the mobile terminal 300.

[0086] The insertion control data, for example, designation of alternative content, may be dynamically provided with reference to profile information and various history information of the user of the mobile terminal 300. The user may select alternative content or a group of alternative content that may be displayed on the mobile terminal 300 using an alternative content designator that may be included as part of the video and audio stream playback unit 360. Based on the playback history of the alternative content (commercial video), a specific played alternative content may be made individually playable using the played alternative content designator (video and audio stream playback unit 360).

[0087] FIG. 20 illustrates an example of constructing the insertion video playback unit 380 in a similar manner to the insertion of subtitle data described with reference to FIG. 12. In the example of FIG. 20, an alternative content insertion instruction is received by the polling control unit 375, and is stored by the message management file storage unit 373, and the alternative content stored in the alternative data storage unit 374A can be used to perform the alternative content insertion process. That is, the switching control unit 371A controls switching between the video / audio stream (video stream) and the alternative content. In this example, the break point and the restart point may be determined using a correction PCR as in the example of FIG. 12. The time information of the break point and the restart point supplied from the insertion information transmission unit 140 is specified in a year / month / date / hour / minute / second format, which can be mutually converted between the break point and the correction PCR using a Time Offset Table (ToT). It is preferable that the ToT is also transmitted to the mobile terminal 300. The alternative content storage unit 374A may be a buffer device, and may be stored in a server (storage device) on the communication network 500.

[0088] Fig. 21 explains an example of a processing flow using subtitle data as an example, and in the modified example of Fig. 20, processing may be performed in the same manner when inserting other alternative content. In Fig. 21, the IP receiving device 210 of the communication network distribution subsystem 200 receives TS packets of the broadcast service TS stream from the broadcaster subsystem 100 and supplies them to the subtitle data extraction unit 231 (X01), and this subtitle data extraction unit 231 transmits the TS packets of the subtitle data to the subtitle data distribution unit (server) 250 (X02). The subtitle data distribution unit 250 stores the subtitle data in the subtitle data storage management unit, and correspondingly updates the message management data (message management file) in the message management file holding unit 260 (X03). In the long polling processing part X04, the application 325A of the mobile terminal 300 first retrieves the message management data (X05), and in response, the subtitle data distribution unit 250 returns the latest data of the message management data to the application 325A (X06). The subtitle data delivery unit 250 repeatedly returns updates to the message management data to the application 325A each time an update is made (X07). The application 325A interprets the message management data acquired in steps X06 and X07 line by line, and if it is a subtitle message, it retrieves the subtitle data acquired in step X03 (X08), and the subtitle data delivery unit 250 sends the subtitle data to the application 325A in response (X09). The application 325A performs display processing at an appropriate time based on the contents of the message management data and the subtitle data, and the subtitles are displayed to the user (X10, X11).

[0089] FIG. 22 shows an example of a message, and as previously shown with reference to FIG. 3, the message includes a message execution time (also called ignition time) in the first column, a message type (also called entity type) in the second column, an entity file name in the third column, and additional information in the fourth column (FIG. 22(A)). In the specific example of FIG. 22(B), the message execution time is "2016-04-20T13:02:15.588+0900", the message type is "cap_packet", the entity file name is " / tvmock / 20160420 / 7fe4.7fe4.0420 / cap / 00055002", and no additional information is included. The message type "cap_packet" indicates that the message is related to subtitles, and indicates that subtitle data is stored in the entity file name " / tvmock / 20160420 / 7fe4.7fe4.0420 / cap / 00055002". The main message types are as shown in FIG.

[0090] As described above, "pmt_changed" in FIG. 23 is used to control the display timing of the subtitle data.

[0091] 20, the communication network delivery subsystem 200 transfers insertion control data (message) of the alternative content to the insertion video playback unit 380 of the mobile terminal 300 to switch the display of the alternative content, and in Fig. 12, the communication network delivery subsystem 200 transfers a message for subtitle display (subtitle display instruction) to the subtitle data playback unit 370 of the mobile terminal 300 to display subtitles (superimposed on the video or displayed in a display area separate from the video), but in a similar manner, any character information may be displayed on the mobile terminal 300. For example, the communication network subsystem 200 may hold a display control message for predetermined character information (advertisement, viewer's message, official information, etc.) in a message management file holding unit and transfer this to the mobile terminal 300, and the mobile terminal 300 may use this display control message to retrieve the corresponding character information stored and managed in the communication network subsystem 200 or any other site, and display, erase, or move the character information at the timing instructed by the display control message. The timing of display, erasure, etc. may be based on the system clock of the broadcaster subsystem 100 (the clock in the broadcast service TS packet) or the system clock of the communication network distribution subsystem 200, and a flag may be used to specify which clock to use. This text information may be displayed in an auxiliary viewing area (for example, a window labeled "subtitles" in FIG. 9) provided separately from the video viewing area A of the mobile terminal 300 in FIG. 9, but is not limited to this.

[0092] This completes the description of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0093] The present invention is determined based on the claims, and is not limited to the specific configurations, problems, and effects of the embodiments. The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0094] For example, although the above embodiment has been described in relation to a mobile terminal, the present invention may be broadly applied to fixed terminals and network television receivers. Some of the technical features described herein are listed below. [Technical feature 1] a reconstruction means for receiving a transmission stream obtained by converting a TS stream of a broadcast service for transmission through a communication network via the communication network, and reconstructing the TS stream of the broadcast service from the transmission stream; a characteristic determination means for determining a characteristic of the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means; a conversion means for IP distribution that converts a video stream and an audio stream included in the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means into a video stream in a format for IP distribution; a transmitting means for transmitting the moving picture stream in the IP distribution format generated by the IP distribution conversion means to a client terminal via the communication network in response to a request from the client terminal on the communication network, A broadcast service communication network distribution device characterized in that the IP distribution conversion means is configured to generate a video stream in the IP distribution format in a standard format based on the characteristics determined by the characteristic determination means. [Technical feature 2] A broadcast service communication network distribution device according to Technical Feature 1, wherein the audio mode in the video stream in the IP distribution format generated in the standard format is a stereo audio mode. [Technical feature 3] A broadcast service communication network distribution device according to Technical Features 1 or 2, wherein the video mode in the video stream in the IP distribution format generated in the standard format is high-definition mode. [Technical feature 4] A broadcast service communication network distribution device described in any one of technical features 1 to 3, wherein the IP distribution conversion means generates a number of video streams in the IP distribution format corresponding to N (N is an integer greater than or equal to 2) organized channels from the TS stream of the broadcast service. [Technical feature 5] The N number of organization channels is two organization channels, and even if the TS stream of the broadcast service includes only one organization channel, the broadcast service communication network distribution device generates a number of video streams in the IP distribution format corresponding to the two organization channels. [Technical feature 6] The broadcast service communication network distribution device according to any one of technical features 1 to 5, wherein the conversion means for IP distribution generates a number of video streams in the format for IP distribution corresponding to two modes of main audio and secondary audio. [Technical feature 7] The broadcast service communication network distribution device described in Technical Feature 6, wherein the IP distribution conversion means generates a number of video streams in the IP distribution format corresponding to the two modes even if the TS stream of the broadcast service does not include secondary audio. [Technical feature 8] The broadcast service communication network distribution device according to any one of technical features 1 to 7, wherein the conversion means for IP distribution generates a number of video streams in the format for IP distribution corresponding to two viewing selections of displaying subtitles and not displaying subtitles. [Technical feature 9] The broadcast service communication network distribution device according to Technical Feature 8, wherein the IP distribution conversion means generates a number of video streams in the IP distribution format corresponding to the two viewing selection numbers even if the TS stream of the broadcast service does not include subtitle data. [Technical feature 10] The broadcast service communication network distribution device according to any one of technical features 1 to 9, wherein the video stream has a series of video files that are played back in sequence according to an index file. [Technical feature 11] The broadcast service communication network distribution device according to any one of Technical Features 1 to 10, wherein the video stream in the IP distribution format is a streaming video stream. [Technical feature 12] 12. The broadcast service communication network distribution device according to any one of Technical Features 1 to 11, wherein the transmission stream is a TS stream of the broadcast service that has been IP packetized. [Technical feature 13] The above IP distribution conversion means is: a demultiplexing means for demultiplexing the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means to generate a video stream and an audio stream; a decoding means for decoding the video stream and the audio stream output from the demultiplexing means to generate a video signal and an audio signal; a standard mode conversion means for converting the video signal and the audio signal into a standard mode; 13. The broadcast service communication network distribution device according to any one of technical features 1 to 12, further comprising: an encoding means for encoding the standard mode video signal and audio signal to generate a video stream in the IP distribution format. [Technical feature 14] a reconstruction means for receiving a transmission stream obtained by converting a TS stream of a broadcast service for transmission through a communication network via the communication network, and reconstructing the TS stream of the broadcast service from the transmission stream; a conversion means for IP distribution that converts a video stream and an audio stream included in the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means into a video stream in a format for IP distribution; a transmitting means for transmitting the moving picture stream in the IP distribution format generated by the IP distribution conversion means to a client terminal via the communication network in response to a request from the client terminal on the communication network, The IP distribution conversion means, when the TS stream of the broadcast service includes subtitle data, generates a video stream in the IP distribution format from the video stream and audio stream generated by the video / audio stream generation means, and also generates another video stream in the IP distribution format from a video stream of a composite video in which subtitles based on subtitle data are added to the video of the video stream and the audio stream. This is a broadcast service communication network distribution device. [Technical feature 15] a reconstruction means for receiving a transmission stream obtained by converting a TS stream of a broadcast service for transmission through a communication network via the communication network, and reconstructing the TS stream of the broadcast service from the transmission stream; a conversion means for IP distribution that converts a video stream and an audio stream included in the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means into a video stream in a format for IP distribution; a transmitting means for transmitting the moving picture stream in the IP distribution format generated by the IP distribution conversion means to a client terminal via the communication network in response to a request from the client terminal on the communication network, A broadcast service communication network distribution device characterized in that the IP distribution conversion means is configured to receive information specifying the start and end of a time interval and alternative content, and to replace the video stream in the IP distribution format with the alternative content in the section specified by the start and end. [Technical feature 16] A broadcasting service communication network distribution device according to Technical Features 15, wherein the alternative content is a video stream segment and an audio stream segment or a still image and a predetermined sound. [Technical feature 17] The IP distribution conversion means has a demultiplexing means for demultiplexing the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means to generate a video stream and an audio stream, and uses alternative content in place of the video signal and audio signal decoded from the video stream and audio stream in the section defined by the start and end. The broadcast service communication network distribution device described in Technical Features 15 or 16. [Technical feature 18] A broadcast service communication network distribution device as described in technical feature 16 or 17, in which the start and end of the time interval are displayed in year, month, day, hour, minute and second and are compared to a time based on a clock conforming to a time offset table and the TS stream of the broadcast service. [Technical feature 19] a reconstruction means for receiving a transmission stream obtained by converting a TS stream of a broadcast service for transmission through a communication network via the communication network, and reconstructing the TS stream of the broadcast service from the transmission stream; a conversion means for IP distribution that converts a video stream and an audio stream included in the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means into a video stream in a format for IP distribution; a transmission means for transmitting the video stream in the IP distribution format generated by the IP distribution conversion means to a client terminal via the communication network in response to a request from the client terminal on the communication network; and a control information supplying means for receiving information specifying the start and end of a time interval and alternative content, and supplying control information to the client device so as to replace the section of the video stream defined by the start and end with the video stream segment. [Technical feature 20] Technical feature 19: A client terminal connected to the broadcast service communication network distribution device via a communication network, a video stream playback means for receiving the video stream in the IP distribution format from the transmission means of the broadcast service communication network distribution device and playing it back; A client terminal characterized in that the video stream playback means is configured to receive the alternative content from the control information supply means of the broadcast service communication network distribution device and play back the alternative content in place of the video stream at a playback time corresponding to the start and end of the time interval. [Technical feature 21] The format for the IP distribution is HLS (HTTP Live Streaming, Apple Inc., both trademarks), and the video stream playback means plays the alternative content in place of the video stream in accordance with the EXT-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME of the video stream file. [Technical feature 22] a reconstruction means for receiving a transmission stream obtained by converting a TS stream of a broadcast service for transmission through a communication network via the communication network, and reconstructing the TS stream of the broadcast service from the transmission stream; a conversion means for IP distribution that converts a video stream and an audio stream included in the TS stream of the broadcast service reconstructed by the reconstruction means into a video stream in a format for IP distribution; a transmission means for transmitting the video stream in the IP distribution format generated by the IP distribution conversion means to a client terminal via the communication network in response to a request from the client terminal on the communication network; an alternative content delivery control means for controlling transmission of an alternative content to be substituted for the video stream or the audio stream during a designated period of time to the client terminal via the network; The alternative content delivery control means an index file storage means for storing an index file that allows access to insertion control information in units of replacement operations; means for transmitting the index file to the client terminal via the network in response to polling from the client terminal; The client terminal uses the insertion control information to obtain the alternative content from a predetermined alternative content storage means and replaces the video stream and the audio stream with the alternative content for a predetermined period of time. [Technical feature 23] A client terminal connectable to a network, a video / audio stream receiving means for receiving, from a transmitting device, a video / audio stream extracted from a broadcast stream and transmitted via the network in a streaming manner; an alternative content receiving means for receiving the alternative content stored in the alternative content storage means via the network; The alternative content receiving means includes: an index file receiving means for receiving, by polling, from the transmitting device, an index file that enables the alternative contents stored in the alternative content storage means to be accessed in units of replacement operations; and a means for receiving the alternative content stored in the alternative content storage means by using the index file received by the index file receiving means in units of the replacement operation. [Technical Feature 24] Client terminals that can connect to the network a video / audio stream receiving means for receiving, from a transmitting device, a video / audio stream extracted from a broadcast stream and transmitted via the network in a streaming manner; A computer program used to cause an alternative content receiving means, which receives an alternative content stored in an alternative content storage means via the network, to execute the alternative content, The alternative content receiving means includes: an index file receiving means for receiving, by polling, from the transmitting device, an index file that enables the alternative contents stored in the alternative content storage means to be accessed in units of replacement operations; a means for receiving the alternative content stored in the alternative content storage means in units of the replacement operation, using the index file received by the index file receiving means. [Explanation of symbols]

[0095] 100 Broadcaster Subsystem 110 Broadcast service TS stream output unit 120 Uplink section 130 IP Transmitting Device 140 Insertion information sending unit 200 Communication network distribution subsystem 210 IP receiving device 220 Video and audio transcoding section 221 Demultiplexer 222 Decoding section 223 Standard mode converter 224 Encoding section 225 TS stream characteristic discrimination unit 228 Program Table 229 Video Synthesis Section 230 Video and Audio Distribution Department 231 Subtitle Data Extraction Unit 240 Video and Audio Distribution Department 241 Alternative content input section 242 Switch 250 Subtitle Data Distribution Department 260 Message Management File Storage Unit 270 Insertion control section 300 Mobile Devices 300A display section 325A Internet TV Broadcast Viewing Application 360 video and audio stream playback section 370 Subtitle data playback unit 371 Subtitle display area 372 Correction PCR generation section 373 Message Management File Storage Unit 374 Subtitle Data Storage Unit 374A Alternative Data Storage Unit 375 Polling control section 380 Inserted Video Playback Section 400 Gateway 500 Communication Network 600 Authentication Server 700 lines

Claims

1. a conversion means for IP distribution for converting a video stream and an audio stream included in the TS stream of the broadcast service into a first video stream in a format for IP distribution; a transmitting means for transmitting a moving picture stream in an IP distribution format to a client terminal via an IP communication network in response to a request from the client terminal on the IP communication network in a streaming manner conforming to an HTTP protocol and not transmitting subtitle data in the TS stream of the broadcast service, a broadcast service communication network distribution device, characterized in that, when the TS stream of the broadcast service includes subtitle data, the conversion means for IP distribution generates the first moving image stream in the IP distribution format from the video stream and audio stream generated by conversion by the conversion means for IP distribution, and in addition, generates a second moving image stream in the IP distribution format from a video stream of a composite video in which subtitles based on subtitle data are added to the video of the video stream and the audio stream, and transmits one of the first moving image stream in the IP distribution format or the second moving image stream in the IP distribution format to the client terminal via the IP communication network based on a selection from the client terminal.

2. a conversion step for IP distribution of converting a video stream and an audio stream included in the TS stream of the broadcast service into a first video stream in a format for IP distribution; a transmitting step of transmitting a video stream in an IP distribution format to a client terminal via an IP communication network in response to a request from the client terminal on the IP communication network in a streaming manner conforming to an HTTP protocol and not transmitting subtitle data in the TS stream of the broadcast service, a broadcast service communication network distribution method comprising: in the conversion for IP distribution step, when the TS stream of the broadcast service includes subtitle data, generating a moving image stream in the IP distribution format from the video stream and audio stream generated by conversion in the conversion for IP distribution step; generating a second moving image stream in the IP distribution format from a video stream of a composite video in which subtitles based on subtitle data are added to the video of the video stream and the audio stream; and transmitting one of the first moving image stream in the IP distribution format or the second moving image stream in the IP distribution format to the client terminal via the IP communication network based on a selection from the client terminal.

3. A processor of a communications network distribution subsystem, a conversion means for IP distribution that converts a video stream and an audio stream included in a TS stream of a broadcast service into a first video stream in a format for IP distribution; a transmitting means for transmitting a moving picture stream in an IP distribution format to a client terminal on an IP communication network in response to a request from the client terminal via the IP communication network in a streaming manner conforming to the HTTP protocol and not transmitting subtitle data in the TS stream of the broadcast service; A computer program for causing a computer to execute as: a first video stream in the IP distribution format from the video stream and audio stream generated by conversion by the IP distribution conversion means when the TS stream of the broadcast service includes subtitle data, and further a second video stream in the IP distribution format from a video stream of a composite video in which subtitles based on subtitle data are added to the video of the video stream and the audio stream, and the first video stream in the IP distribution format or the second video stream in the IP distribution format is transmitted to the client terminal via the IP communication network based on a selection from the client terminal.

Images