Distribution system, distribution method, and program

Abstract

To easily provide a cover picture.SOLUTION: A distribution system includes a content reception part for receiving distribution content from a distributor terminal, a content distribution part for distributing the received distribution content, a cover picture content storage part for storing cover picture content, and a distribution switching part for switching the content distributed by the content distribution part to the cover picture content according to a switching instruction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a distribution system, a distribution method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Live performances are now being distributed via communication networks (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-203523 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If a problem occurs on the distribution side, the video cannot be delivered to viewers.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and aims to provide a technique that makes it possible to easily provide a cover picture. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The main invention of the present invention for solving the above problem is a distribution system comprising a content receiving unit that receives distribution content from a distributor terminal, a content distribution unit that distributes the received distribution content, a cover picture content storage unit that stores cover picture content, and a distribution switching unit that switches the content distributed by the content distribution unit to the cover picture content in response to a switching instruction.

[0007] Other problems and solutions disclosed in this application will be made clear in the section on preferred embodiments of the invention and the drawings. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a cover picture can be easily provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a distribution system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a distribution server 2. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the software configuration of a distribution server 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a management screen 4. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the distribution server 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] <Summary of the Invention> The present invention will be described by listing the contents of the embodiments. For example, the present invention has the following configuration. [Item 1] a content receiving unit that receives distributed content from a distributor terminal; a content distribution unit that distributes the received distribution content; a cover picture content storage unit for storing cover picture content; a distribution switching unit that switches the content distributed by the content distribution unit to the cover picture content in response to a switching instruction; A distribution system comprising: [Item 2] The distribution system according to item 1, the content storage unit stores the cover picture content in association with a scene to be distributed; the distribution switching unit accepts designation of the scene; A distribution system characterized by: [Item 3] The distribution system according to item 1, a distribution display unit that displays the distribution content; a cover picture display unit that displays the cover picture content; a control for transmitting the instructions; a management screen providing unit that provides the distributor with a management screen having the A distribution system characterized by: [Item 4] receiving distribution content from a distributor terminal and distributing the received distribution content; storing cover picture content; Switching the content to be distributed to the cover image content in response to a switching instruction; A distribution method characterized by being executed by a computer. [Item 5] receiving distribution content from a distributor terminal and distributing the received distribution content; storing cover picture content; Switching the content to be distributed to the cover image content in response to a switching instruction; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

[0011] <System Overview> A distribution system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The distribution system of this embodiment distributes content provided by a distributor to viewers. The content provided by the distributor can be, for example, live video. The distribution system of this embodiment allows the distributor to switch to a cover image even if some kind of problem occurs on the distributor side and the content cannot be distributed.

[0012] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a distribution system. The distribution system of this embodiment includes a distribution server 2. The distribution server 2 is communicably connected to a distributor terminal 1 and a viewer terminal 3 via a communication network. The communication network is, for example, the Internet, and is constructed using a public telephone network, a mobile phone network, a wireless communication path, Ethernet (registered trademark), etc.

[0013] The distributor terminal 1 is a computer operated by a content distributor. The distributor terminal 1 can be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or a personal computer. Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is installed on the distributor terminal 1, and live video captured by a camera or the like can be sent to the distribution server 2 using the OBS function. OBS also makes it possible to switch between live video and a cover image video.

[0014] The distribution server 2 is a computer that distributes content. The distribution server 2 may be a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or personal computer, or may be logically realized using cloud computing. The distribution server 2 can receive content (video) transmitted from the distributor terminal 1 and distribute it to multiple viewer terminals 3. A general configuration can be adopted for the mechanism of video distribution by the distribution server 2.

[0015] The viewer terminal 3 is a computer operated by a viewer of the content. The viewer terminal 3 can be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or a personal computer. The viewer terminal 3 can receive content distributed from the distribution server 2 and play the content, allowing the viewer to watch the played content.

[0016] <Distribution server> FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the distribution server 2. Note that the illustrated configuration is an example, and other configurations may also be used. The management server 2 includes a CPU 201, a memory 202, a storage device 203, a communication interface 204, an input device 205, and an output device 206. The storage device 203 stores various data and programs, and is, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or a flash memory. The communication interface 204 is an interface for connecting to a communication network, and is, for example, an adapter for connecting to Ethernet (registered trademark), a modem for connecting to a public telephone network, a wireless communication device for wireless communication, or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector or an RS232C connector for serial communication. The input device 205 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a button, a microphone, or the like for inputting data. The output device 206 is, for example, a display, a printer, a speaker, or the like for outputting data. Each functional unit of the distribution server 2 described below is realized by the CPU 201 reading a program stored in the storage device 203 into the memory 202 and executing it, and each storage unit of the distribution server 2 is realized as part of the storage area provided by the memory 202 and the storage device 203.

[0017] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the distribution server 2. The distribution server 2 includes a cover image content storage unit 231, a content receiving unit 211, a content distribution unit 212, a management screen providing unit 213, and a distribution switching unit 214.

[0018] The cover image content storage unit 231 stores cover image content. A cover image is an image that is displayed when the content to be distributed (hereinafter referred to as distribution content) is not displayed, such as before or after distribution or during an intermission, and can be, for example, an image including a message such as "Please wait a moment until distribution begins." The cover image content can be a video or still image to be displayed as the cover image. The cover image content may also include audio. The cover image content storage unit 231 can store cover image content in association with information (scene name) that specifies the scene in which the cover image is displayed. The scene name can be, for example, "Before the show begins," "End," or "Trouble."

[0019] The content receiving unit 211 receives distribution content from the distributor terminal 1. The content receiving unit 211 can receive the distribution content as live video, for example, by streaming. The streaming video may be transmitted in units of video data each having a length of a few seconds, for example.

[0020] The content distribution unit 212 distributes the distribution content to the viewer terminal 3. The distribution process of the distribution content by the content distribution unit 212 may be, for example, a process related to general video distribution.

[0021] The management screen providing unit 213 provides a management screen to the distributor. The management screen providing unit 213 can, for example, transmit HTML data for displaying the management screen to the distributor terminal 1. The distributor terminal 1 transmitting the content to be distributed may be different from the distributor terminal 1 displaying the management screen. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the management screen 4. The management screen 4 includes a display field 41 (distribution display section) that displays content being distributed by the distribution server 2, a display field 42 (cover picture display section) that displays content corresponding to a specified scene, a list 43 for selecting a scene, a button 441 for starting distribution of content from the distribution server 2, a button 442 for stopping distribution of content from the distribution server 2, and a button 45 (control) for switching the content to be distributed from the distribution server 2.

[0022] The distributor terminal 1 can also receive content that the content distribution unit 212 distributes to the viewer terminal 3 and display it in the display field 41 of the management screen 4. The distributor terminal 1 may also display, on the management screen 4, the distribution content that it is sending to the distribution server 2.

[0023] The distributor terminal 1 transmits a request (hereinafter referred to as a scene request) specifying a scene selected from the list 43 to the distribution server 2, and the management screen providing unit 213 transmits content corresponding to the scene specified in the scene request received from the distributor terminal 1 to the distributor terminal 1. The distributor terminal 1 receives the content transmitted from the distribution server 2 in response to the scene request and displays it in the display field 42 of the management screen 4. Scenes include those indicating that distribution content is currently being distributed ("Live Video" in the example of FIG. 4) and those indicating scenes for which a cover image should be displayed ("Before the Performance Begins," "End," and "Trouble" in the example of FIG. 4). When "Live Video," indicating that distribution content is currently being distributed, is specified in the scene request, the management screen providing unit 213 can respond with the distribution content received from the distributor terminal 1 by the content receiving unit 211. When "Before the Performance Begins," "End," or "Trouble," indicating scenes for which a cover image should be displayed, are specified in the scene request, the management screen providing unit 213 can read cover image content corresponding to the scene from the cover image content storage unit 231 and respond with the read cover image content.

[0024] When the distribution start button 441 is pressed, the distributor terminal 1 can send a request to start distribution (hereinafter referred to as a start request) to the distribution server 2. In response to the start request from the distributor terminal 1, the content distribution unit 212 can start distributing the distribution content to the viewer terminal 3.

[0025] When the distribution stop button 441 is pressed, the distributor terminal 1 can send a request to stop distribution (hereinafter referred to as a stop request) to the distribution server 2. In response to the stop request to stop distribution from the distributor terminal 1, the content distribution unit 212 can stop distribution of the distribution content to the viewer terminal 3.

[0026] When the switch button 45 is pressed, the distributor terminal 1 can send a request to switch distribution (hereinafter referred to as a switch request) to the distribution server 2. The scene selected in the list 43 can be set in the switch request. Note that the switch request may be sent from a distributor terminal 1 other than the distributor terminal 1 that is sending the distribution content.

[0027] The distribution switching unit 214 performs processing to switch the content distributed by the content distribution unit 212 in response to a switching request. For example, the distribution switching unit 214 notifies the content distribution unit 212 of the reading destination of the content to be distributed, and the content distribution unit 212 can acquire the content from the notified reading destination and distribute it. The distribution switching unit 214 can notify the content distribution unit 212 of the distribution content received from the distributor terminal 1 or the cover picture content registered in the cover picture content storage unit 231. Furthermore, the distribution switching unit 214 may set the reading destination of the content to the memory 202 or the storage device 203, and the content distribution unit 212 may read the content from the reading destination set in the memory 202 or the storage device 203.

[0028] <Operation> FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the distribution server 2.

[0029] The distribution server 2 distributes the content to be distributed (S301), and when a switching request is received from the distributor terminal 1 (S302: YES), it switches the content to be distributed according to the scene specified in the switching request (S303). Specifically, when the switching request specifies that the content is currently being distributed, the distribution server 2 distributes the content received from the distributor terminal 1 to the viewer terminal 3, and when the switching request specifies a scene to display a cover picture, the distribution server 2 can read out the cover picture content corresponding to the scene from the cover picture content storage unit 231 and distribute the read cover picture content to the viewer terminal 3.

[0030] As described above, according to the distribution system of this embodiment, it is possible to switch between the distribution content and the cover image content in the distribution server 2. Therefore, if any trouble occurs in uploading the distribution content from the distributor terminal 1, it is possible to easily distribute the cover image content to the viewer terminal 3.

[0031] For example, in this embodiment, the switching is performed in response to a scene request, but it is also possible to have the switching performed automatically on the distribution server 2 side. For example, when the content receiving unit 211 detects that the transmission of distribution content from the distributor terminal 1 has stopped, the distribution switching unit 214 may switch to distributing a cover picture content corresponding to a predetermined scene (for example, "trouble").

[0032] Furthermore, the scene request may be received from an external device other than the distributor terminal 1.

[0033] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the above embodiment is intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and equivalents thereof are also included in the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1. Streamer terminal 2. Distribution Server 3 Viewer terminals

Claims

1. a content receiving unit that receives distributed content from a distributor terminal; a content distribution unit that distributes the received distribution content; a cover picture content storage unit for storing cover picture content; a distribution switching unit that switches the content distributed by the content distribution unit to the cover picture content in response to a switching instruction; A distribution system comprising:

2. 2. The distribution system according to claim 1, the content storage unit stores the cover picture content in association with a scene to be distributed; the distribution switching unit accepts designation of the scene; A distribution system characterized by:

3. 2. The distribution system according to claim 1, a distribution display unit that displays the distribution content; a cover picture display unit that displays the cover picture content; a control for transmitting the instructions; a management screen providing unit that provides the distributor with a management screen having the A distribution system characterized by:

4. receiving distribution content from a distributor terminal and distributing the received distribution content; storing cover picture content; Switching the content to be distributed to the cover image content in response to a switching instruction; A distribution method characterized by being executed by a computer.

5. receiving distribution content from a distributor terminal and distributing the received distribution content; storing cover picture content; Switching the content to be distributed to the cover image content in response to a switching instruction; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

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