US20040015994A1 - Method and apparatus for sending/receiving VOD streaming service providing client-favored advertisement - Google Patents

Method and apparatus for sending/receiving VOD streaming service providing client-favored advertisement Download PDF

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Publication number
US20040015994A1
US20040015994A1 US10/394,578 US39457803A US2004015994A1 US 20040015994 A1 US20040015994 A1 US 20040015994A1 US 39457803 A US39457803 A US 39457803A US 2004015994 A1 US2004015994 A1 US 2004015994A1
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client
contents
advertisement
vod
multimedia contents
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US10/394,578
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Hee-kyung Choi
Kang-wook Chun
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Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
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Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
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Assigned to SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. reassignment SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: CHOI, HEE-KYUNG, CHUN, KANG-WOOK
Publication of US20040015994A1 publication Critical patent/US20040015994A1/en
Priority to US12/230,493 priority Critical patent/US8898711B2/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
    • H04N7/173—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
    • H04N7/17309—Transmission or handling of upstream communications
    • H04N7/17318—Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/23—Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
    • H04N21/234—Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing of video streams, manipulating MPEG-4 scene graphs
    • H04N21/2343—Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing of video streams, manipulating MPEG-4 scene graphs involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04N21/23—Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
    • H04N21/24—Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of server load, available bandwidth, upstream requests
    • H04N21/2407—Monitoring of transmitted content, e.g. distribution time, number of downloads
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/25—Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies
    • H04N21/258—Client or end-user data management, e.g. managing client capabilities, user preferences or demographics, processing of multiple end-users preferences to derive collaborative data
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    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/433—Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
    • H04N21/442—Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. detecting the failure of a recording device, monitoring the downstream bandwidth, the number of times a movie has been viewed, the storage space available from the internal hard disk
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    • H04N21/47202—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
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    • H04N21/47—End-user applications
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    • H04N21/4722—End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content for requesting additional data associated with the content
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
    • H04N21/61—Network physical structure; Signal processing
    • H04N21/6106—Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the downstream path of the transmission network
    • H04N21/6125—Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the downstream path of the transmission network involving transmission via Internet
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04N21/61—Network physical structure; Signal processing
    • H04N21/6156—Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the upstream path of the transmission network
    • H04N21/6175—Network physical structure; Signal processing specially adapted to the upstream path of the transmission network involving transmission via Internet
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
    • H04N21/63—Control signaling related to video distribution between client, server and network components; Network processes for video distribution between server and clients or between remote clients, e.g. transmitting basic layer and enhancement layers over different transmission paths, setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet between remote STB's; Communication protocols; Addressing
    • H04N21/643—Communication protocols
    • H04N21/6437—Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/60—Network structure or processes for video distribution between server and client or between remote clients; Control signalling between clients, server and network components; Transmission of management data between server and client, e.g. sending from server to client commands for recording incoming content stream; Communication details between server and client 
    • H04N21/65—Transmission of management data between client and server
    • H04N21/658—Transmission by the client directed to the server
    • H04N21/6587—Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
    • H04N21/81—Monomedia components thereof
    • H04N21/812—Monomedia components thereof involving advertisement data

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to video on demand (VOD) streaming service, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for clients/users to select and request advertisements during the VOD streaming service (VOD service).
  • VOD video on demand
  • VOD streaming service has undergone remarkable developments, technically.
  • the VOD streaming service business is in a rudimentary stage compared to the technical developments due to the absence of business models.
  • An example of a conventional method of advertising for VOD streaming service includes providing advertisements prior to contents which a client desires to receive, when an Internet contents service provider provides the desired contents to the client.
  • the Internet contents service provider receives advertisement contents from advertisers and processes the advertisement contents into files to be transferred over the Internet.
  • the Internet contents service provider adds searching data to the processed files and stores the files in a database server.
  • advertisement contents corresponding to personal information on the client and the selected service contents, are searched in the database server and provided to the client.
  • a check message is transferred to the web server of the Internet contents service provider.
  • the web server receives the check message, the web server provides the client the selected service contents from the database server.
  • FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a conventional video on demand (VOD) streaming service system.
  • the conventional VOD streaming service system is formed of a VOD server 100 , a network 110 , clients 120 , and an advertiser 130 .
  • the VOD server 100 providing VOD streaming service, processes various multimedia contents and stores them in a database.
  • the network 110 is a virtual space where data are transferred when requesting the VOD streaming service and providing the contents in connection with the VOD.
  • the clients 120 are terminals outputting multimedia data requests for the VOD streaming service from the VOD server 100 through the network 110 and processing received multimedia contents in response to the requests, thereby allowing a user to select and output favored contents from among the contents provided from the VOD server 100 .
  • the advertiser 130 pays money to a VOD streaming service provider having the VOD server 100 so that the VOD server 100 provides advertisement contents of the advertiser 130 , along with VOD contents, to the clients 120 .
  • the advertiser 130 and/or the Internet contents provider 100 control and provide advertisements according to client profiles collected by the VOD server 100 prior to allowing the clients 120 to receive selected services, such as VOD services (multimedia service content).
  • the client watches the advertisements prior to receiving the selected VOD contents. Further, the client cannot select the advertisements but passively receives and watches whatever advertisements are provided by an Internet contents service provider and then receives the selected VOD contents.
  • a novel VOD streaming service system and business model based thereon which provides a new billing model for the contents of the VOD streaming service, and provides, for example, attracting advertisements that promote the client's interests, is needed.
  • the present invention provides a video on demand (VOD) streaming service according to client controlled advertisements (advertising) or in response to providing client/user-favored advertisements, and a method of performing the same.
  • VOD video on demand
  • the present invention also provides a client terminal receiving a VOD service, which enables a client/user to watch client/user preferred advertisements, and a method of performing the same.
  • the present invention can be achieved by a VOD server providing a VOD streaming service, comprising a service controller providing clients multimedia contents according to client controlled advertising or in response to providing the clients specific advertisement contents selected and requested by the clients, and a data storage storing the multimedia contents, the advertisement contents, and the client data.
  • the service controller comprises a web service engine managing client access specifics, a search engine searching for the multimedia contents and the advertisement contents selected by the clients and retrieving the selected contents through the web service engine, a media streaming engine transferring the contents retrieved by the search engine to the client terminals, and a session management engine managing sessions during which the clients receive access to the VOD server according to client-forwarded/provided/driven advertisement selection interaction (i.e., according to client advertisement selection interaction) and/or client advertisement actions/interactions with the client selected advertisements.
  • client-forwarded/provided/driven advertisement selection interaction i.e., according to client advertisement selection interaction
  • the data storage comprises a client profile database storing the client data, an advertisement contents database storing the advertisement contents, and a multimedia contents database storing the multimedia contents, such as movies or music, to be provided to the clients.
  • the present invention can also be achieved by a client terminal, which receives multimedia contents and advertisement contents from a VOD server, comprising a web browser accessing the VOD server and selecting and requesting receipt of desired multimedia contents and advertisement contents, a session manager managing the sessions of the multimedia contents according to client advertisement contents selection interaction, and a reproducer reproducing the multimedia contents and the advertisement contents received from the VOD server according to the session management of the session manager.
  • the present invention can also be achieved by a method of providing a VOD streaming service which provides client-favored advertisement contents by using a VOD server enabling an advertisement selection interaction, comprising receiving a request for specific multimedia contents from a client and providing the requested multimedia contents to the client, checking the time or amount of the multimedia contents provided to stop the provision of the multimedia contents to the client when the time or the amount exceeds a predetermined value, providing advertisement contents which are requested by the client, receiving an advertisement contents stop request from the client and restarting transfer of the multimedia contents requested by the client.
  • the present invention can also be achieved by a method of receiving a VOD streaming service in a client terminal, comprising allowing a client to select multimedia contents, such as specific movies or music, and requesting a VOD server for the selected multimedia contents, reproducing the specific multimedia contents provided from the VOD server, requesting the VOD server for receipt of specific advertisement contents after a predetermined amount of time or receipt of multimedia content and reproducing the advertisement contents, and restarting receiving and reproducing the multimedia contents from the VOD server when an advertisement contents stop request is received from the client.
  • multimedia contents such as specific movies or music
  • the requesting of the advertisement contents further comprises providing an advertisement selection image through the client terminal to allow the client to select and request receipt of the advertisement contents (i.e., to control advertising to the client).
  • the advertisement contents stop command can be selected after a predetermined amount of time from the start of reproduction of the advertisement contents.
  • FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a conventional video on demand (VOD) streaming service system
  • FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a VOD streaming server driven by client advertisement selection interaction during a VOD streaming service of the VOD streaming server, according to an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a VOD client terminal allowing client advertisement selection interaction to drive/control a VOD streaming service during the VOD streaming service, according to an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart of operations in a VOD server driven/controlled by a client advertisement selection interaction, according to an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a VOD streaming service in a client terminal allowing client advertisement selection interaction to drive/control a VOD server during the VOD streaming service, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a VOD streaming service with client-forwarded/provided/driven advertising between a VOD server and a client terminal, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a VOD streaming server 190 driven/controlled by a client (e.g., a user, computing device, etc.) advertisement selection interaction during a VOD streaming service from the VOD streaming server 190 , according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the VOD streaming server 190 comprises a service controller 200 and a data storage 210 .
  • the service controller 200 provides multimedia contents requested by the client and advertisement contents provided by an advertiser.
  • the client may directly select/request (i.e., control) the advertisement contents to receive in exchange for a VOD service, thereby providing a client-forwarded/provided/driven advertising and VOD service (i.e., client controlled advertising and VOD service).
  • a client receives advertisement contents based upon client input.
  • the service controller 200 comprises a web service engine 201 , a search engine 202 , a media streaming engine 203 , and a session management engine 204 .
  • the web service engine 201 manages client access specifics.
  • the search engine 202 searches for and fetches the multimedia contents or the advertisement contents requested by the client through the web service engine 201 .
  • the media streaming engine 203 transfers the contents retrieved by the search engine 202 .
  • the session management engine 204 manages sessions of the client that accesses the VOD server 190 .
  • the data storage 201 comprises a client profile database 211 , an advertisement contents database 212 , and a multimedia contents database 213 .
  • the client profile database 211 stores client data, which is used by the VOD server 190 to identify which client (device) has transmitted something to the VOD server 190 and to which client the VOD server 190 needs to respond. Further, typically, the client data comprises client profile information, such as client advertisement receipt history (client advertisement control history or client advertisement selection interaction history), client multimedia content selection history, client advertisement profile, etc.
  • the advertisement contents database 212 stores the advertisement contents provided from the advertiser to the VOD server 190 .
  • the multimedia contents database 213 stores substantial data, such as movies and music, to be provided to the client, for example, as a VOD service in response to and/or in exchange for client advertisement selection interaction (client controlled advertisements). Accordingly, a VOD service can be controlled with client advertisement selection interaction during the VOD service.
  • FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a VOD client terminal 290 allowing client advertisement selection interaction to drive/control a VOD streaming service during the VOD streaming service, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the VOD client terminal 290 comprises a web browser 300 accessing the VOD server 190 , a session manager 310 managing the advertisement and multimedia contents sessions provided from the VOD server 190 , and a reproducer 320 receiving the advertisement and multimedia contents from the VOD server 190 and reproducing the received contents.
  • the client may access the VOD server 190 through the web browser 300 of the VOD client terminal 290 and receive favored multimedia contents.
  • the client may select favored advertisement categories from the categorized advertisement contents.
  • the VOD server 190 receives data of the selected advertisement categories and transfers the advertisement contents corresponding to the selected advertisement categories to the VOD client terminal 290 .
  • the VOD server 190 may provide information on advertisement contents, which can be provided to the VOD client terminal 290 , so that the web browser 300 of the VOD client terminal 290 can select a favored advertisement from the information. Thereafter, the VOD server 190 transfers the corresponding selected favored advertisement contents to the VOD client terminal 290 .
  • the session manager 310 of the VOD client terminal 290 manages sessions of multimedia contents according to client advertisement selection interaction. For example, when the reproducer 320 reproduces requested multimedia contents, the session manager 310 checks time or amount of multimedia contents reproduced. If the time or the amount of multimedia contents reproduced exceeds a predetermined value, the reproducer 320 stops reproduction of the multimedia contents and the web browser 300 provides an advertisement contents selection function to the client, so that the client can select an advertisement to receive, for example, from an advertisement category list and/or from an advertisement list (i.e., controlled advertisement receipt). When the VOD server 190 provides the selected advertisement contents to the VOD client terminal 290 , the reproducer 320 reproduces the selected advertisement contents.
  • the session manager 310 checks whether a predetermined reproducing time for the received advertisement contents has passed and allows the client to select an advertisement contents stop command, if the predetermined time has passed.
  • the VOD client terminal 290 recommences receipt of the multimedia contents from the VOD server 190 and reproduces the multimedia contents through the reproducer 320 .
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart of operations in a VOD server driven/controlled by a client advertisement selection interaction, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • a client e.g., a user, a computing device, etc.
  • the VOD server 190 provides the multimedia contents requested by the client through the network.
  • the VOD server 190 checks the time or amount of multimedia contents provided to the client to temporarily stop the provision of the multimedia contents when the time or amount exceeds a predetermined value.
  • the VOD server 190 stops the multimedia contents reproduction.
  • recommencement of the multimedia contents reproduction requires client advertisement selection interaction or client controlled advertising, such as requesting receipt of advertisements and interacting with, viewing, etc., the client controlled advertisements.
  • client selects one category from several advertisement categories and/or detailed advertisement profile data and requests the VOD server 190 for the corresponding advertisement contents in the client-selected category and/or according to the client-selected advertisement profile data.
  • the VOD server 190 receives the advertisement request from the client, and, at operation 440 , the VOD server provides the corresponding advertisement contents requested to the client.
  • the VOD server 190 checks whether the client sends an advertisement contents stop command.
  • a client terminal such as the client terminal 290 , manages a client controlled advertising session and allows the client to send the advertisement stop command to the VOD server 190 , after the client receives the client requested advertisement contents for a certain time, amount and/or performs an action, etc., with the client requested advertisement.
  • the VOD server 190 can similarly manage the advertising session.
  • the VOD server 190 receives the advertisement contents stop command from the client, at operation 460 , the VOD server 190 recommences transfer of the temporarily stopped multimedia contents to the client.
  • the present invention provides a business model of providing/billing for network contents in response to and/or in exchange for client advertisement selection interaction (i.e., client controlled advertisements).
  • client advertisement selection interaction i.e., client controlled advertisements
  • multimedia content streaming service can be controlled according to client-forwarded/provided/driven advertising and/or client advertisement selection interaction, such as client-selected (controlled) advertisement viewing, processing, etc, during the multimedia content streaming.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a VOD streaming service in a client terminal allowing client advertisement selection interaction to drive/control a VOD server during the VOD streaming service, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • a client selects favored multimedia contents, such as a specific movie or music, using the client terminal 290 .
  • the client terminal 290 requests the VOD server 190 for the selected multimedia contents.
  • the client terminal 290 reproduces the selected multimedia contents provided from the VOD server 190 .
  • the client terminal 290 determines if reproduction of the selected multimedia content has or should be stopped in response to, for example, a stop signal.
  • the VOD server 190 generates a stop signal for the client terminal 290 or ceases providing the client-favored multimedia contents, when the VOD server 190 determines a time or an amount of the favored multimedia contents reproduced has exceeded a predetermined value.
  • the client terminal 290 can determine when reproduction of the client-favored multimedia contents has or should be stopped. In particular, when the time or the multimedia contents reproduction amount exceeds the predetermined value, the client terminal 290 is informed of the end of the multimedia contents reproduction.
  • the client terminal 290 provides an advertisement selection image to allow the client to select and request receipt of advertisement contents.
  • the client terminal 290 requests the VOD server 190 for the selected advertisement as client-favored (client controlled) advertisement contents, and receives the selected client-favored advertisement contents from the VOD server 190 and reproduces the received client selected advertisement contents.
  • the client terminal 290 After the advertisement contents are reproduced by the client terminal 290 for a predetermined amount or time, at operation 540 , the client terminal 290 allows client input of an advertisement contents stop command and checks whether the client sends/inputs the advertisement contents stop command. In response to the advertisement contents stop command, at operation 550 , the client terminal 290 stops the reproduction of the advertisement contents, and restarts receiving the temporarily stopped client-favored multimedia contents from the VOD server 190 (e.g., sending another request for the client-favored multimedia contents to the VOD server 190 , continuing reproduction from previously received client-favored multimedia content, etc.) and reproduces the client-favored multimedia contents.
  • the VOD server 190 e.g., sending another request for the client-favored multimedia contents to the VOD server 190 , continuing reproduction from previously received client-favored multimedia content, etc.
  • FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a VOD streaming service with client-forwarded/provided/driven advertising between the VOD server 190 and the client terminal 290 , according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the client terminal 290 will be referred to as a terminal, and as Internet protocol examples, the real-time transport protocol (RTP) and the real-time transport streaming protocol (RTSP) is used for communicating real-time data and streaming control data and the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is used for communicating messages between the VOD server 190 and the terminal 290 .
  • RTP real-time transport protocol
  • RTSP real-time transport streaming protocol
  • HTTP Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
  • the terminal requests the VOD server 190 for specific multimedia contents.
  • the VOD server 190 provides the requested multimedia contents (RTP data) to the terminal 290 .
  • the VOD server 190 transfers a multimedia contents stop signal (RTSP) to the terminal.
  • RTSP multimedia contents stop signal
  • a client interactive (client controlled) advertisement session begins, in which the terminal 290 requests (HTTP Get) the VOD server 190 for advertisement contents.
  • the VOD server 190 provides the advertisement contents to the terminal 290 , and the client selects receipt of one of the provided and displayed advertisement contents by using a predetermined output unit of the terminal 290 , for example, a screen of the web browser.
  • the terminal 290 requests (RTSP) the VOD server 190 for the corresponding advertisement contents selected to be received by the client.
  • the VOD server 190 transfers (RTSP data, or RTP data in case of streaming advertisements) the advertisement contents requested by the client to the terminal 290 , and the terminal 290 reproduces the provided advertisements until the client is permitted to stop the advertisement reproduction to resume reproduction of the multimedia contents. If the client inputs an advertisement reproduction stop command/signal, at operation 607 , the terminal 290 sends an advertisement contents stop request (RTSP) to the VOD server 190 .
  • RTSP advertisement contents stop request
  • the terminal 290 again requests the VOD server 190 for the multimedia contents.
  • the VOD server 190 continues (resumes) providing the multimedia contents requested by the terminal 290 .
  • the clients can receive advertisement contents selectively during the VOD streaming service to pay for the VOD services, thereby providing a new VOD billing business model.
  • the client can control advertising (advertisement receipt), allowing direct client controlled interactive advertising as opposed to the conventional passive (captive) advertising.
  • the client may select receipt of preferred advertisement contents. In this way, it is easier to attract both the client's and the advertiser's interests.
  • the predetermined reproduction times and amounts can be tied to predetermined advertising values, thereby providing an underlying business model of paying for a VOD service according to client-forwarded/provided/driven (client controlled) advertising.
  • the present invention provides an apparatus and a method of sending/receiving video on demand (VOD) streaming service in response to and/or in exchange for client-favored (controlled) advertisements, providing an underlying business model of client controlled advertising and VOD service.
  • VOD video on demand
  • a VOD server and a VOD client terminal tie the VOD streaming service to client advertisement selection interactions, such as advertisement receipt selections and/or attributes (e.g., type, mode, etc.) of the received advertisements.
  • the client session management regarding the client-favored multimedia contents and the client controlled advertisement contents can be performed on the VOD server and/or on the client VOD client terminal.
  • the present invention provides a system and method of providing on demand contents via a network according to client controlled advertising to the client, wherein the client controls the advertising, for example, by selecting advertisement receipt according to categories and/or selecting advertising attributes.
  • the present invention provides a content on demand network system allowing client controlled advertisements to drive/control a content streaming service prior to commencement of and/or during the content streaming service.
  • the processes of the present invention providing/billing on demand electronic contents according to client controlled advertising to the client are implemented in software and/or hardware.

Abstract

An apparatus and a method of sending/receiving video on demand (VOD) streaming service according to providing client-favored advertisement. A VOD server and a VOD client terminal tie the VOD streaming service to client advertisement selection interactions, such as advertisement receipt selections, advertisement selection attributes (e.g., type, mode, etc.). The VOD server comprises a service controller providing to clients multimedia contents and specific advertisement contents selected by the clients to receive and a data storing unit storing the multimedia contents, the advertisement contents, and the client data.

Description

    CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
  • This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2002-15900, filed Mar. 23, 2002 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. [0001]
    • BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  • 1. Field of the Invention [0002]
  • The present invention relates to video on demand (VOD) streaming service, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for clients/users to select and request advertisements during the VOD streaming service (VOD service). [0003]
  • 2. Description of the Related Art [0004]
  • VOD streaming service has undergone remarkable developments, technically. However, the VOD streaming service business is in a rudimentary stage compared to the technical developments due to the absence of business models. [0005]
  • An example of a conventional method of advertising for VOD streaming service includes providing advertisements prior to contents which a client desires to receive, when an Internet contents service provider provides the desired contents to the client. In order to perform the method, the Internet contents service provider receives advertisement contents from advertisers and processes the advertisement contents into files to be transferred over the Internet. The Internet contents service provider adds searching data to the processed files and stores the files in a database server. When the client accesses the web server of the Internet contents service provider and selects contents of a service, advertisement contents corresponding to personal information on the client and the selected service contents, are searched in the database server and provided to the client. In particular, when the client watches the received selected advertisements, a check message is transferred to the web server of the Internet contents service provider. When the web server receives the check message, the web server provides the client the selected service contents from the database server. [0006]
  • FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a conventional video on demand (VOD) streaming service system. The conventional VOD streaming service system is formed of a [0007] VOD server 100, a network 110, clients 120, and an advertiser 130. Here, the VOD server 100 providing VOD streaming service, processes various multimedia contents and stores them in a database. The network 110 is a virtual space where data are transferred when requesting the VOD streaming service and providing the contents in connection with the VOD. The clients 120 are terminals outputting multimedia data requests for the VOD streaming service from the VOD server 100 through the network 110 and processing received multimedia contents in response to the requests, thereby allowing a user to select and output favored contents from among the contents provided from the VOD server 100. The advertiser 130 pays money to a VOD streaming service provider having the VOD server 100 so that the VOD server 100 provides advertisement contents of the advertiser 130, along with VOD contents, to the clients 120. In particular, the advertiser 130 and/or the Internet contents provider 100 control and provide advertisements according to client profiles collected by the VOD server 100 prior to allowing the clients 120 to receive selected services, such as VOD services (multimedia service content).
  • In another example of the conventional method of advertising for a VOD streaming service, when the client watches the advertisements, the corresponding advertiser pays a fee for the VOD contents (service) used by the client on behalf of the client. [0008]
  • In the above described conventional methods of advertising for a VOD streaming service, the client watches the advertisements prior to receiving the selected VOD contents. Further, the client cannot select the advertisements but passively receives and watches whatever advertisements are provided by an Internet contents service provider and then receives the selected VOD contents. Thus, a novel VOD streaming service system and business model based thereon which provides a new billing model for the contents of the VOD streaming service, and provides, for example, attracting advertisements that promote the client's interests, is needed. [0009]
    • SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • The present invention provides a video on demand (VOD) streaming service according to client controlled advertisements (advertising) or in response to providing client/user-favored advertisements, and a method of performing the same. [0010]
  • The present invention also provides a client terminal receiving a VOD service, which enables a client/user to watch client/user preferred advertisements, and a method of performing the same. [0011]
  • Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. [0012]
  • The present invention can be achieved by a VOD server providing a VOD streaming service, comprising a service controller providing clients multimedia contents according to client controlled advertising or in response to providing the clients specific advertisement contents selected and requested by the clients, and a data storage storing the multimedia contents, the advertisement contents, and the client data. [0013]
  • According to an aspect of the present invention, the service controller comprises a web service engine managing client access specifics, a search engine searching for the multimedia contents and the advertisement contents selected by the clients and retrieving the selected contents through the web service engine, a media streaming engine transferring the contents retrieved by the search engine to the client terminals, and a session management engine managing sessions during which the clients receive access to the VOD server according to client-forwarded/provided/driven advertisement selection interaction (i.e., according to client advertisement selection interaction) and/or client advertisement actions/interactions with the client selected advertisements. [0014]
  • According to an aspect of the present invention, the data storage comprises a client profile database storing the client data, an advertisement contents database storing the advertisement contents, and a multimedia contents database storing the multimedia contents, such as movies or music, to be provided to the clients. [0015]
  • The present invention can also be achieved by a client terminal, which receives multimedia contents and advertisement contents from a VOD server, comprising a web browser accessing the VOD server and selecting and requesting receipt of desired multimedia contents and advertisement contents, a session manager managing the sessions of the multimedia contents according to client advertisement contents selection interaction, and a reproducer reproducing the multimedia contents and the advertisement contents received from the VOD server according to the session management of the session manager. [0016]
  • The present invention can also be achieved by a method of providing a VOD streaming service which provides client-favored advertisement contents by using a VOD server enabling an advertisement selection interaction, comprising receiving a request for specific multimedia contents from a client and providing the requested multimedia contents to the client, checking the time or amount of the multimedia contents provided to stop the provision of the multimedia contents to the client when the time or the amount exceeds a predetermined value, providing advertisement contents which are requested by the client, receiving an advertisement contents stop request from the client and restarting transfer of the multimedia contents requested by the client. [0017]
  • The present invention can also be achieved by a method of receiving a VOD streaming service in a client terminal, comprising allowing a client to select multimedia contents, such as specific movies or music, and requesting a VOD server for the selected multimedia contents, reproducing the specific multimedia contents provided from the VOD server, requesting the VOD server for receipt of specific advertisement contents after a predetermined amount of time or receipt of multimedia content and reproducing the advertisement contents, and restarting receiving and reproducing the multimedia contents from the VOD server when an advertisement contents stop request is received from the client. [0018]
  • According to an aspect of the present invention, the requesting of the advertisement contents further comprises providing an advertisement selection image through the client terminal to allow the client to select and request receipt of the advertisement contents (i.e., to control advertising to the client). [0019]
  • According to an aspect of the present invention, the advertisement contents stop command can be selected after a predetermined amount of time from the start of reproduction of the advertisement contents.[0020]
    • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • The above and/or other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which: [0021]
  • FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a conventional video on demand (VOD) streaming service system; [0022]
  • FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a VOD streaming server driven by client advertisement selection interaction during a VOD streaming service of the VOD streaming server, according to an embodiment of the present invention; [0023]
  • FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a VOD client terminal allowing client advertisement selection interaction to drive/control a VOD streaming service during the VOD streaming service, according to an embodiment of the present invention; [0024]
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart of operations in a VOD server driven/controlled by a client advertisement selection interaction, according to an embodiment of the present invention; [0025]
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a VOD streaming service in a client terminal allowing client advertisement selection interaction to drive/control a VOD server during the VOD streaming service, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and [0026]
  • FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a VOD streaming service with client-forwarded/provided/driven advertising between a VOD server and a client terminal, according to an embodiment of the present invention.[0027]
    • DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
  • Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. [0028]
  • FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a [0029] VOD streaming server 190 driven/controlled by a client (e.g., a user, computing device, etc.) advertisement selection interaction during a VOD streaming service from the VOD streaming server 190, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The VOD streaming server 190 comprises a service controller 200 and a data storage 210. The service controller 200 provides multimedia contents requested by the client and advertisement contents provided by an advertiser. According to the invention, the client may directly select/request (i.e., control) the advertisement contents to receive in exchange for a VOD service, thereby providing a client-forwarded/provided/driven advertising and VOD service (i.e., client controlled advertising and VOD service). In particular, in the present invention, a client receives advertisement contents based upon client input. The service controller 200 comprises a web service engine 201, a search engine 202, a media streaming engine 203, and a session management engine 204. Here, the web service engine 201 manages client access specifics. The search engine 202 searches for and fetches the multimedia contents or the advertisement contents requested by the client through the web service engine 201. The media streaming engine 203 transfers the contents retrieved by the search engine 202. The session management engine 204 manages sessions of the client that accesses the VOD server 190.
  • The [0030] data storage 201 comprises a client profile database 211, an advertisement contents database 212, and a multimedia contents database 213. The client profile database 211 stores client data, which is used by the VOD server 190 to identify which client (device) has transmitted something to the VOD server 190 and to which client the VOD server 190 needs to respond. Further, typically, the client data comprises client profile information, such as client advertisement receipt history (client advertisement control history or client advertisement selection interaction history), client multimedia content selection history, client advertisement profile, etc. Typically, the advertisement contents database 212 stores the advertisement contents provided from the advertiser to the VOD server 190. The multimedia contents database 213 stores substantial data, such as movies and music, to be provided to the client, for example, as a VOD service in response to and/or in exchange for client advertisement selection interaction (client controlled advertisements). Accordingly, a VOD service can be controlled with client advertisement selection interaction during the VOD service.
  • FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a [0031] VOD client terminal 290 allowing client advertisement selection interaction to drive/control a VOD streaming service during the VOD streaming service, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The VOD client terminal 290 comprises a web browser 300 accessing the VOD server 190, a session manager 310 managing the advertisement and multimedia contents sessions provided from the VOD server 190, and a reproducer 320 receiving the advertisement and multimedia contents from the VOD server 190 and reproducing the received contents.
  • The client may access the [0032] VOD server 190 through the web browser 300 of the VOD client terminal 290 and receive favored multimedia contents. In addition, the client may select favored advertisement categories from the categorized advertisement contents. The VOD server 190 receives data of the selected advertisement categories and transfers the advertisement contents corresponding to the selected advertisement categories to the VOD client terminal 290. Alternatively, the VOD server 190 may provide information on advertisement contents, which can be provided to the VOD client terminal 290, so that the web browser 300 of the VOD client terminal 290 can select a favored advertisement from the information. Thereafter, the VOD server 190 transfers the corresponding selected favored advertisement contents to the VOD client terminal 290.
  • The [0033] session manager 310 of the VOD client terminal 290 manages sessions of multimedia contents according to client advertisement selection interaction. For example, when the reproducer 320 reproduces requested multimedia contents, the session manager 310 checks time or amount of multimedia contents reproduced. If the time or the amount of multimedia contents reproduced exceeds a predetermined value, the reproducer 320 stops reproduction of the multimedia contents and the web browser 300 provides an advertisement contents selection function to the client, so that the client can select an advertisement to receive, for example, from an advertisement category list and/or from an advertisement list (i.e., controlled advertisement receipt). When the VOD server 190 provides the selected advertisement contents to the VOD client terminal 290, the reproducer 320 reproduces the selected advertisement contents. Typically, the session manager 310 checks whether a predetermined reproducing time for the received advertisement contents has passed and allows the client to select an advertisement contents stop command, if the predetermined time has passed. When the client selects the advertisement contents stop command, the VOD client terminal 290 recommences receipt of the multimedia contents from the VOD server 190 and reproduces the multimedia contents through the reproducer 320.
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart of operations in a VOD server driven/controlled by a client advertisement selection interaction, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Using the [0034] VOD server 190 shown in FIG. 2 as an example, initially, at operation 400, a client (e.g., a user, a computing device, etc.) requests the VOD server 190 for specific multimedia contents, such as movies or music. At operation 410, the VOD server 190 provides the multimedia contents requested by the client through the network. At operation 420, the VOD server 190 checks the time or amount of multimedia contents provided to the client to temporarily stop the provision of the multimedia contents when the time or amount exceeds a predetermined value.
  • If determined at [0035] operation 420 that the multimedia content reproduction time or amount has reached and/or exceeded the predetermined time or amount, the VOD server 190 stops the multimedia contents reproduction. At this time, recommencement of the multimedia contents reproduction requires client advertisement selection interaction or client controlled advertising, such as requesting receipt of advertisements and interacting with, viewing, etc., the client controlled advertisements. For example, the client selects one category from several advertisement categories and/or detailed advertisement profile data and requests the VOD server 190 for the corresponding advertisement contents in the client-selected category and/or according to the client-selected advertisement profile data. At operation 430, the VOD server 190 receives the advertisement request from the client, and, at operation 440, the VOD server provides the corresponding advertisement contents requested to the client. At operation 450, the VOD server 190 checks whether the client sends an advertisement contents stop command. In particular, typically, a client terminal, such as the client terminal 290, manages a client controlled advertising session and allows the client to send the advertisement stop command to the VOD server 190, after the client receives the client requested advertisement contents for a certain time, amount and/or performs an action, etc., with the client requested advertisement. Alternatively, the VOD server 190 can similarly manage the advertising session. When, at operation 450, the VOD server 190 receives the advertisement contents stop command from the client, at operation 460, the VOD server 190 recommences transfer of the temporarily stopped multimedia contents to the client.
  • The operation of transferring advertisement contents selected by the client is repeated when the predetermined multimedia reproduction time is again passed or the predetermined multimedia amount is again transferred to the client, after the restart of the transfer of the multimedia contents (i.e., after operation [0036] 460). Accordingly, the present invention provides a business model of providing/billing for network contents in response to and/or in exchange for client advertisement selection interaction (i.e., client controlled advertisements). In particular, for example, multimedia content streaming service can be controlled according to client-forwarded/provided/driven advertising and/or client advertisement selection interaction, such as client-selected (controlled) advertisement viewing, processing, etc, during the multimedia content streaming.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a VOD streaming service in a client terminal allowing client advertisement selection interaction to drive/control a VOD server during the VOD streaming service, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Using the [0037] client terminal 290 and the VOD server 190 shown in FIGS. 3 and 2, respectively, as examples, initially, at operation 500, a client selects favored multimedia contents, such as a specific movie or music, using the client terminal 290. Further, at operation 500, the client terminal 290 requests the VOD server 190 for the selected multimedia contents. At operation 510, the client terminal 290 reproduces the selected multimedia contents provided from the VOD server 190.
  • At [0038] operation 520, the client terminal 290 determines if reproduction of the selected multimedia content has or should be stopped in response to, for example, a stop signal. Typically, the VOD server 190 generates a stop signal for the client terminal 290 or ceases providing the client-favored multimedia contents, when the VOD server 190 determines a time or an amount of the favored multimedia contents reproduced has exceeded a predetermined value. Alternatively, the client terminal 290 can determine when reproduction of the client-favored multimedia contents has or should be stopped. In particular, when the time or the multimedia contents reproduction amount exceeds the predetermined value, the client terminal 290 is informed of the end of the multimedia contents reproduction. At operation, 525, the client terminal 290 provides an advertisement selection image to allow the client to select and request receipt of advertisement contents. At operation 530, the client terminal 290 requests the VOD server 190 for the selected advertisement as client-favored (client controlled) advertisement contents, and receives the selected client-favored advertisement contents from the VOD server 190 and reproduces the received client selected advertisement contents.
  • After the advertisement contents are reproduced by the [0039] client terminal 290 for a predetermined amount or time, at operation 540, the client terminal 290 allows client input of an advertisement contents stop command and checks whether the client sends/inputs the advertisement contents stop command. In response to the advertisement contents stop command, at operation 550, the client terminal 290 stops the reproduction of the advertisement contents, and restarts receiving the temporarily stopped client-favored multimedia contents from the VOD server 190 (e.g., sending another request for the client-favored multimedia contents to the VOD server 190, continuing reproduction from previously received client-favored multimedia content, etc.) and reproduces the client-favored multimedia contents.
  • The operation of allowing the client to select and request receipt of advertisement contents and transferring the selected advertisement contents, is repeated when a predetermined time has again passed or a predetermined client-favored multimedia content amount is reproduced after the restart of the reproduction of the client-favored multimedia contents (i.e., after operation [0040] 550).
  • FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a VOD streaming service with client-forwarded/provided/driven advertising between the [0041] VOD server 190 and the client terminal 290, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereafter, the client terminal 290 will be referred to as a terminal, and as Internet protocol examples, the real-time transport protocol (RTP) and the real-time transport streaming protocol (RTSP) is used for communicating real-time data and streaming control data and the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is used for communicating messages between the VOD server 190 and the terminal 290.
  • At [0042] operation 600, the terminal requests the VOD server 190 for specific multimedia contents. At operation 601, the VOD server 190 provides the requested multimedia contents (RTP data) to the terminal 290. When a predetermined time, for example, thirty minutes, has passed from the start of the provision of the multimedia contents, or a predetermined amount of multimedia contents is provided, at operation 602, the VOD server 190 transfers a multimedia contents stop signal (RTSP) to the terminal.
  • At [0043] operation 603, a client interactive (client controlled) advertisement session begins, in which the terminal 290 requests (HTTP Get) the VOD server 190 for advertisement contents. At operation 604, the VOD server 190 provides the advertisement contents to the terminal 290, and the client selects receipt of one of the provided and displayed advertisement contents by using a predetermined output unit of the terminal 290, for example, a screen of the web browser. At operation 605, the terminal 290 requests (RTSP) the VOD server 190 for the corresponding advertisement contents selected to be received by the client.
  • At [0044] operation 606, the VOD server 190 transfers (RTSP data, or RTP data in case of streaming advertisements) the advertisement contents requested by the client to the terminal 290, and the terminal 290 reproduces the provided advertisements until the client is permitted to stop the advertisement reproduction to resume reproduction of the multimedia contents. If the client inputs an advertisement reproduction stop command/signal, at operation 607, the terminal 290 sends an advertisement contents stop request (RTSP) to the VOD server 190.
  • At [0045] operation 608, the terminal 290 again requests the VOD server 190 for the multimedia contents. At operation 608, the VOD server 190 continues (resumes) providing the multimedia contents requested by the terminal 290.
  • The above operations can be repeated until the provision of the selected multimedia contents from the VOD server to the terminal is completed according to client-advertisement selection interaction. [0046]
  • As described above, the clients can receive advertisement contents selectively during the VOD streaming service to pay for the VOD services, thereby providing a new VOD billing business model. The client can control advertising (advertisement receipt), allowing direct client controlled interactive advertising as opposed to the conventional passive (captive) advertising. Advantageously, the client may select receipt of preferred advertisement contents. In this way, it is easier to attract both the client's and the advertiser's interests. The predetermined reproduction times and amounts can be tied to predetermined advertising values, thereby providing an underlying business model of paying for a VOD service according to client-forwarded/provided/driven (client controlled) advertising. Although, the example embodiments describe tying client controlled advertisement receipt to a time and/or advertisement reproduction time, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration and other client advertisement receipt measures can be implemented according to business needs/applications, such as amount and/or type of client interaction/input with/for an advertisement. In particular, the present invention provides an apparatus and a method of sending/receiving video on demand (VOD) streaming service in response to and/or in exchange for client-favored (controlled) advertisements, providing an underlying business model of client controlled advertising and VOD service. A VOD server and a VOD client terminal tie the VOD streaming service to client advertisement selection interactions, such as advertisement receipt selections and/or attributes (e.g., type, mode, etc.) of the received advertisements. The client session management regarding the client-favored multimedia contents and the client controlled advertisement contents can be performed on the VOD server and/or on the client VOD client terminal. [0047]
  • Further, the present invention provides a system and method of providing on demand contents via a network according to client controlled advertising to the client, wherein the client controls the advertising, for example, by selecting advertisement receipt according to categories and/or selecting advertising attributes. In particular, the present invention provides a content on demand network system allowing client controlled advertisements to drive/control a content streaming service prior to commencement of and/or during the content streaming service. The processes of the present invention providing/billing on demand electronic contents according to client controlled advertising to the client are implemented in software and/or hardware. [0048]
  • Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents. [0049]

Claims (13)

What is claimed is:
1. A video on demand (VOD) server, which provides a VOD streaming service, the VOD server comprising:
a service controller providing multimedia contents to a client according to client controlled receipt of advertisement contents.
2. The VOD server of claim 1, further comprising:
a data storage storing the multimedia contents, the advertisement contents, and client data, and wherein the service controller comprises:
a web service engine managing client access specifics;
a search engine retrieving multimedia contents and advertisement contents requested by the client from the data storage through the web service engine;
a media streaming engine transferring the requested contents retrieved by the search engine to the client; and
a session management engine managing sessions during which the client accesses the VOD server according to the client controlled receipt of the advertisements.
3. The VOD server of claim 1, further comprising:
a data storage storing a client profile database;
an advertisement contents database storing the advertisement contents; and
a multimedia contents database storing the multimedia contents.
4. A client terminal, which receives multimedia contents and advertisement contents from a video on demand (VOD) server, the client terminal comprising:
a web browser accessing the VOD server and requesting desired multimedia contents and advertisement contents; and
a session manager managing multimedia contents reproduction sessions according to client controlled receipt of the advertisement contents via the web browser.
5. A method of providing a video on demand (VOD) streaming service which provides client-favored advertisement contents by using a VOD server enabling a client advertisement selection interaction, the method comprising:
receiving a request for specific multimedia contents from the client and providing the requested multimedia contents to the client;
checking a time or amount of the multimedia contents provided to stop the provision of the multimedia contents to the client when the time or the amount exceeds a predetermined value;
providing advertisement contents requested by the client as the client-favored advertisement contents, if the provision of the multimedia contents to the client is stopped; and
restarting the providing of the multimedia contents requested by the client in response to an advertisement contents stop request from the client.
6. A method of receiving a video on demand (VOD) streaming service in a client terminal, the method comprising:
allowing a client to request receipt of multimedia contents, and requesting a VOD server for the selected multimedia contents;
reproducing the requested multimedia contents provided from the VOD server;
allowing the client to request receipt of specific advertisement contents from the VOD server after a predetermined amount of time and/or reproduction of the multimedia contents;
receiving the client requested specific advertisement contents and reproducing the received client requested specific advertisement contents; and
restarting the reproducing of the multimedia contents from the VOD server when an advertisement contents stop request is received from the client.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the request to receive the advertisement contents further comprises providing an advertisement selection image through the client terminal to allow the client to request the receipt of the specific advertisement contents.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein the advertisement contents stop command is selectable only after a predetermined amount of time from a start of the reproducing of the client requested specific advertisement contents.
9. A method, comprising:
providing on demand contents to a client via a network in exchange for providing client controlled advertisements to the client.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the client controls the advertisements by requesting receipt of the advertisements according to categories and/or selecting advertisement attributes.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the on demand contents is a movie and the client receives and/or views the movie in exchange of receiving and/or viewing the client controlled advertisements.
12. A system, comprising:
a programmed client computer processing a user contents request and managing a user-controlled advertising session to the user; and
a programmed server computer in communication with the client computer and providing to the client computer the requested contents in response to and/or in exchange of providing user requested advertisements to the user during the user-controlled advertising session.
13. A method of providing a video on demand (VOD) streaming service according to user-favored advertisement contents, comprising:
receiving a real-time transport streaming protocol (RTSP) play movie command from a;
transmitting the movie as real-time transport protocol (RTP) data;
checking a time or amount of the movie transmitted to stop the transmitting when the time or the amount exceeds a predetermined value;
providing an RTSP pause movie command to pause the movie transmission;
establishing a hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) user controlled advertisement session;
receiving an RTSP play advertisement request from the user;
transmitting the user requested advertisements as RTP data and/or RTSP data;
checking a time or amount of the user requested advertisements transmitted to allow the user to stop the transmitting when the time or the amount exceed a predetermined value;
receiving an RTSP stop advertisement command to tear down the HTTP session and stop the user requested advertisement transmission;
receiving another RTSP play movie message; and
continuing the transmitting of the movie as the RTP data.
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