FR2995485A1 - Method for division of e.g. video, between set of communication equipments of local area network i.e. home network, involves providing multimedia server outside of network, and providing stored descriptive data by communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided a method of sharing multimedia content between a plurality of communication equipment of a local area network, comprising: a storage step, by a first piece of equipment of said local network, of at least one descriptive data of a multimedia content, said datum comprising at least one location information of said content on a remote multimedia server, outside said local network; a step of providing said plurality of devices, by said first equipment, said stored descriptive data.

Description

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The field of the invention is that of local networks of communication equipment and in particular home networks. . Individuals have more and more communication equipment, which they often want to network to benefit from new services or greater flexibility of use. 2. TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND With the explosion of the use of the Internet and multimedia, users have become accustomed to accessing a quantity of multimedia data that they then want to keep. These include content purchased on commercial sites, or acquired for free from download site or proprietary applications (eg YouTube, ...), such as movies or music. It can also be contents (for example a photograph or a video sequence) recorded by the user himself (for example with his smartphone) or received from a third party. Multimedia content, formerly often limited to sound, increasingly includes both video and sound, which makes them more and more greedy in terms of computing resources. As a result, the storage capacities of a device can be quickly saturated if the contents are stored in high definition or if the user of the equipment wishes to have many contents. In response to these needs, manufacturers are marketing storage equipment (for example, internal or external hard drives) with increasingly large capacities. This forces users to regularly update their equipment to have equipment of higher capacity. They are then forced to make transfers of the multimedia content on their old equipment to the equipment they have just acquired and from which they want to enjoy these contents. OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION The invention, in at least one embodiment, has the particular objective of overcoming these various disadvantages of the state of the art. More precisely, in at least one embodiment of the invention, one objective is to provide a technique that allows access to a large number of multimedia contents to a user within a local network. At least one embodiment of the invention also aims to provide such a technique that is easy to implement for a user, without requiring special technical skills. Another objective of at least one embodiment of the invention is to provide such a technique which is advantageous in terms of flexibility for a user and allows him to render multimedia content on the equipment of his choice. Another objective of at least one embodiment of the invention is still to provide such a technique compatible with standard communication protocols of the market. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a particular embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method of sharing multimedia content between a plurality of communication equipment of a local area network. According to the invention, such a method comprises: a step of storing, by a first piece of equipment of said local network, at least one item of descriptive data of a multimedia content, said item comprising at least one piece of information of location of said content on a remote media server, outside said local network; a step of providing said plurality of devices, by said first equipment, said stored descriptive data.

Thus, the solution of the invention proposes to store not multimedia content but data in particular for locating these contents on a remote server, without downloading. As a result, the invention makes it possible to limit storage requirements associated with the storage of multimedia content by a user's equipment. Thus, with the solution of the invention, the user has more or very little to worry about the storage capacity of the equipment of his local network and can therefore have a large library of multimedia content. In particular, a large increase in the number of contents listed in this library (and therefore potentially available to the user) will not result in a significant consumption of resources and therefore will not require any change in the equipment park of the site. local network. According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the method further comprises a preliminary step of recording from said first equipment, said content on said remote multimedia server. Thus, the solution of the invention allows a user to have a means for locating and ranking multimedia contents (for example photo albums) stored by himself on a dedicated remote server. According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the method further comprises a step of accessing at least one of said descriptive data by a second piece of equipment of said local network. Thus, the solution of the invention allows a user to be able to have the descriptive data associated with a multimedia content from the equipment of his choice of the home network. He can thus classify these descriptive data according to different criteria, or select at least one media content which he wishes to access or mark as a favorite for example. According to a particular characteristic of the invention, said step of accessing at least one of said descriptive data comprises a substep of obtaining at least one location information of said content.

Thus, the solution of the invention allows a user to obtain, from the equipment of his choice from the home network, a means of access to a multimedia content. In some embodiments, the descriptive data may in particular comprise a plurality of different location information, for example because the same content is available on several servers and / or in several formats, so as to privilege a data format accepted by the equipment on which the content will be rendered or according to the accessibility or the technical performance of the remote server of contents.

According to a particular feature of the invention, the method further comprises a step of accessing said multimedia content, by said second device, from said remote server, using said location information. Thus, the solution of the invention allows a user to access remote multimedia content, from the equipment of his choice home network. According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the method implements at least one protocol belonging to the group comprising: a TCP / IP protocol; a UDP protocol; An HTTP protocol; a DLNA protocol; a UPnP protocol. According to a particular characteristic of the invention, said descriptive data item furthermore comprises at least one complementary piece of information describing the multimedia content and / or said server and belonging to the group comprising: a naming (title) of said content; - a type of multimedia content (video, audio, ....) - a classification of multimedia content; - an assessment by at least one user of the content (craze, 30 themes addressed, degree of violence, etc.); a format of said content on said server; a size of said content; an indication of an access fee to said content from said remote server; a period or a deadline for accessibility of said content to said remote server; technical characteristics of said remote server (maximum speed, accepted protocols .....); a type of access to said content (download, streaming, ...). In another aspect, the invention relates to data storage equipment, said equipment belonging to a plurality of communication equipment of a local area network. According to the invention, such data storage equipment comprises: storage means, at least one descriptive data of a multimedia content, said data item comprising at least one information for locating said content on a remote multimedia server, outside said local network; means for providing said plurality of equipment, by said first equipment, with said stored descriptive data. Advantageously, the storage equipment according to the invention comprises means for implementing the steps it performs in the sharing method as described above, in any of its various embodiments. According to yet another aspect, the invention relates to a multimedia content reproduction equipment, said equipment belonging to a plurality of communication equipment of a local network. According to the invention, such content reproduction equipment comprises means for accessing at least one descriptive data of a multimedia content, said data item comprising at least one information for locating said content on a remote multimedia server, external to said multimedia content server. local network, and said data being made available by storage equipment according to the invention belonging to said plurality of devices, the means of access to at least one descriptive data comprising means for obtaining at least one location information of said content. In particular, such playback equipment may not have sufficient capacity to allow the storage in its entirety of a large multimedia content and simply restitute, for example by streaming, a stream present on a multimedia server and localized by said obtaining means. Advantageously, the reproduction equipment according to the invention comprises means for implementing the steps it performs in the sharing method as described above, in any one of its various embodiments.

In particular, any equipment of the local network can play both the role of storage equipment and playback equipment within the meaning of the invention. According to another aspect, the invention relates to a computer program product comprising program code instructions for implementing the aforementioned method (in any one of its various embodiments), when said program is executed on a computer. 5. LIST OF FIGURES Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent on reading the following description, given by way of indicative and nonlimiting example, and the appended drawings, in which: FIG. general of the invention; Figure 2 shows the steps of the method of the invention according to a particular embodiment; Figure 3 shows the simplified structure of a storage device according to the invention. - Figure 4 shows the simplified structure of a reproduction equipment according to the invention. In all the figures of this document, the elements and identical steps are designated by the same numerical reference. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION 6.1 General Principle The general principle of the invention is presented in connection with the figurel.

The general principle of the invention is based on the storage by equipment, within a home network, descriptive data of multimedia content (for example files), including links to allow these equipment to make available to others equipment (including local network terminals) content accessible over the Internet. Thus, the invention facilitates access to multimedia content, by sharing descriptive data related to these contents, while allowing a saving of space on the various devices or terminals of the local network, as well as a saving of time for access these contents.

In particular, unlike data sharing solutions within an existing local network, according to which the contents proposed by an equipment must be stored on it, the solution of the invention makes it possible not to limit the 'Offer' of proposed content to the storage capacity of the equipment. A structure of a home network for content sharing according to the invention is illustrated by way of example in FIG. 1. In the example illustrated, the network, which uses a WIFI technology, comprises firstly a piece of equipment 140 (or "Box" according to the English terminology), providing WIFI access to the Internet, and secondly equipment capable of storing and / or rendering multimedia content (for example a smartphone 100, a television 110, a smartphone). personal computer 120, tablet 130, digital recorder). In the embodiment presented, the equipment includes, not a multimedia file to be consulted, but a descriptive file (102, 122, 132) "pointing" to this multimedia file, the latter still being stored on the Internet, for example in Data Center or Cloud. As illustrated in FIG. 1, it is clear that, depending on the equipment present in the home network and the needs of each user, certain equipment of the home network may not store descriptive files.

In the embodiment presented, the files (102, 122, 132) for access to the stored contents are structure files of the XML type, containing at least the information making it possible to retrieve the content on the Internet: For example, it can be act as file, containing at least the following code sequence: <? xml version = 1.0?> <content descriptor> <title> movie title </ title> <url> http: // ... / ... / a movie.mp4 </ url> </ content descriptor> Other information, describing more precisely the content and its conditions of use, may be stored in the file. The naming of the file can be chosen on the one hand to indicate a descriptive file of multimedia content, for example by means of an extension ".scl" or ".SCL" (for "Short Content Locator"), on the other hand to facilitate identification of the content described by the file, for example by resuming at least partially the title of the content described. In the embodiment presented, each ".SCL" file has a size of the order of 1 KB, which represents a very small storage size. As a result, the solution of the invention thus makes it possible to offer a lot more multimedia content than in the case where the contents themselves are stored within the local network. 6.2 Presentation of a Particular Embodiment of the Invention In relation to FIGS. 1 and 2, the steps of the method of the invention according to a particular embodiment are presented. In the particular embodiment presented, the sharing method implements a standard protocol of the market, such as for example: a TCP / IP protocol; a UDP protocol; - an HTTP protocol; a DLNA protocol; a UPnP protocol. In the embodiment presented, the method comprises a storage step 202, by a device 100 of the local network illustrated in FIG. 1, of at least one descriptive data of a multimedia content, for example a ".scl" file, the descriptive data comprising at least one location information of the content on a remote media server 250, outside the local network. This step may in particular be preceded by a recording step 200, from this equipment 100, of the multimedia content to be described on the remote multimedia server. For example, it may be the recording on a server of a photo album, and the storage of its location on the equipment 100. According to the invention, the method further comprises a step 204 of provisioning equipment (100, 110, 120, 130) of the local network, by the equipment 100, descriptive data 102 that it stores. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the method further comprises an access step 206, by one of the equipment 120 of the local network, to at least one of the descriptive data 102 made available by the equipment 100. equipment (100, 110, 120, 130) can for example list the contents offered by the equipment 100 in the form of a list of files ".scl" or read the contents of some "scl" files listed. It will then be able to access multimedia content, described in one of these "scl" files, present on the Internet via the WIFI network and the interface equipment (or box) between the local network and the Internet network. In particular, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the method comprises a substep of obtaining at least one location information 25 of said content. It may be a single location information or on the contrary several location information, on one or more servers, so as to allow the choice of the most appropriate location according to choice criteria such as the capacity of the server. equipment (100, 110, 120, 130), criteria for the cost or availability of certain servers.

The step of accessing at least one of the descriptive data may further include a step of filtering the obtained location information. This filtering can be performed automatically by the equipment (100, 110, 120, 130), for example to remove certain locations that are not compatible with its capabilities, or according to criteria configured by the user (for example to show that locations associated with free downloads). Filtering can also be done manually by the user of the equipment (100, 110, 120, 130). In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the method comprises an access step 208 to said multimedia content, by said second device, from said remote server 250 using said location information. Thus, for example, according to FIG. 1, the equipment 120 accesses, via the box 140, the content that the ".scl" file 102 describes. Once the file ".scl" 102 read on the equipment 100, the equipment 120, the equipment 120 can terminate its transaction with the equipment 100. It then accesses the content available on the remote server, thanks the location information of the content read in the file ".scl" 102. This embodiment allows the particular storage equipment 100 to be "released" and therefore available for another transaction. In some cases, particularly for access to free content, the equipment 120 may continue to access the content even if the equipment 100 is removed from the home network. In some embodiments of the invention, the sub-step of obtaining includes a substep of storing the data obtained by the equipment. Thus, the invention makes it particularly possible for a user of a device to acquire new ".scl" files and then use them to view content, even after having been removed from the home network, when he has access to Internet connection (Wired, WIFI, 3G, 4G, ...). The invention also allows a user of a storage facility 100 of descriptive data 102 to be able to exchange his ".scl" files with another user whose equipment 120 is at least temporarily a member of the same home network.

Indeed, because of their small size, ".scl" file transfer times are very short. Thus, two users can for example exchange their ".scl" files through an open WIFI network, because they are geographically close. 6.3 Structure of a Storage Equipment According to the Invention With reference to FIG. 3, the simplified structure of a storage device according to the invention is presented. Such equipment comprises a memory 312 comprising a buffer memory, a processing unit 314, equipped for example with a microprocessor FP, and driven by a computer program 316, the execution of which implements a sharing method, according to one of the particular embodiments of the invention. At initialization, the code instructions of the computer program 316 are for example loaded into a RAM before being executed by the processor of the processing unit 314. The processing unit 314 receives as input a descriptive data of a multimedia content. The microprocessor of the processing unit 314 implements the steps of the sharing method described above, according to the instructions of the computer program 316. To this end, the data storage equipment comprises, in addition to the buffer memory 312: storage means, at least one descriptive data of a multimedia content, said data item comprising at least one information for locating said content on a remote multimedia server, outside a local network, comprising a plurality of devices; to which said storage equipment belongs; means for providing said equipment of the local network with said stored descriptive data. These means are controlled by the microprocessor of the processing unit 312. 6.4 Structure of a restitution equipment according to the invention The simplified structure of a restitution equipment according to FIG. 4 is presented with reference to FIG. invention. Such equipment comprises a memory 412 comprising a buffer memory, a processing unit 414, equipped for example with a microprocessor FP, and driven by a computer program 416, the execution of which implements a sharing method, according to one of the particular embodiments of the invention. At initialization, the code instructions of the computer program 416 are for example loaded into a RAM before being executed by the processor of the processing unit 414.

The processing unit 414 receives as input descriptive data of a multimedia content. The microprocessor of the processing unit 414 implements the steps of the sharing method described above, according to the instructions of the computer program 416.

To this end, the reproduction equipment comprises, in addition to the buffer memory 412, means for accessing at least one descriptive data of a multimedia content, said data comprising at least one information for locating said content on a remote multimedia server. external to a local area network, comprising a plurality of equipment to which said rendering equipment belongs, said item being made available by data storage equipment according to the invention belonging to said plurality of pieces of equipment of the local network, means for accessing at least one descriptive data comprising means for obtaining at least one location information of said content. These means are controlled by the microprocessor of the processing unit 412.

According to one embodiment, the invention is implemented by means of software and / or hardware components. In this context, the term "means" may correspond in this document as well to a software component, a hardware component or a set of hardware and software components. A software component corresponds to one or more computer programs, one or more subroutines of a program, or more generally to any element of a program or software capable of implementing a function or a set of functions, as described below for the means concerned. Such a software component is executed by a data processor of a physical entity (terminal, server, gateway, set-top-box, router, etc.) and is able to access the hardware resources of this physical entity ( memories, recording media, communication buses, input / output electronic boards, user interfaces, etc.). In the same way, a hardware component corresponds to any element of a hardware set (or hardware) able to implement a function or a set of functions, as described below for the module concerned. It may be a hardware component that is programmable or has an integrated processor for executing software, for example an integrated circuit, a smart card, a memory card, an electronic card for executing a firmware ( firmware), etc.

Claims (10)

REVENDICATIONS1. A method of sharing multimedia content between a plurality of communication equipment of a local network, characterized in that it comprises: a step of storage, by a first piece of equipment of said local network, of at least one descriptive data of a multimedia content, said data item comprising at least one location information of said content on a remote multimedia server, outside said local network; a step of providing said plurality of devices, by said first equipment, said stored descriptive data. 2. Sharing method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a prior step of recording, from said first equipment, said content on said remote multimedia server. 3. Sharing method according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it further comprises a step of accessing at least one of said descriptive data, by a second device of said local network. 4. Sharing method according to claim 3, characterized in that said step of accessing at least one of said descriptive data comprises a substep of obtaining at least one location information of said content. 5. Sharing method according to claim 4, characterized in that it further comprises a step of access to said multimedia content, by said second device, from said remote server, using said location information. 6. Sharing method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it implements at least one protocol belonging to the group comprising: a TCP / IP protocol; a UDP protocol; an HTTP protocol; a DLNA protocol; a UPnP protocol. 7. Sharing method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said descriptive data further comprises at least additional information describing the multimedia content and / or said server and belonging to the group comprising: naming said content; a type of multimedia content; a classification of multimedia content; an assessment by at least one user of said content; a format of said content on said server; a size of said content; an indication of an access fee to said content from said remote server; a period or a deadline for accessibility of said content to said remote server; technical characteristics of said remote server; a type of access to said content; 8. Data storage equipment, said equipment belonging to a plurality of communication equipment of a local area network, characterized in that it comprises: storage means, at least one descriptive data of a multimedia content said datum comprising at least one location information of said content on a remote media server, outside said local network; means for making said plurality of equipment available, said stored descriptive data. 9. Equipment for restitution of multimedia content, said equipment belonging to a plurality of communication equipment of a local area network, characterized in that it comprises means for accessing at least one descriptive data of a multimedia content, said datum comprising at least one location information of said content on a remote multimedia server, outside said local network, and said datum being made available by data storage equipment according to claim 8 belonging to said plurality of equipment, said means access to at least one descriptive datacomprising means for obtaining at least one location information of said content. A computer program product, comprising program code instructions for implementing the method according to at least one of claims 1 to 7, when said program is run on a computer.