CN100515056C - Method, system apparatus and set top box for displaying mutli-channel information in identical picture - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a method, a system, a device and a set-top box for displaying information of multiple channels in the same picture, and relates to the field of digital multimedia. In the solution, the picture processor assembles the received multiple media streams according to the divided areas of the channels, and merges them into one mosaic media stream; the set-top box receives the user’s mosaic service start command, and obtains the mosaic channel information through the interaction with the intermediate server, and then According to the mosaic channel information, request a mosaic media stream from the network, receive the mosaic media stream from the network, and display the content of the mosaic media stream through the terminal, so that the media stream for realizing the mosaic service is no longer multiple channels but only one channel. For transmission resources The network that increases with the number of media streams does not need to occupy too much transmission resources when implementing mosaic services; and the set-top box does not need to decode multiple media streams at the same time, which reduces the complexity of the implementation of the set-top box and reduces the cost of the set-top box.

Description

Method, system, device and set-top box for displaying information of multiple channels on the same screen

technical field

The invention relates to the field of digital multimedia, in particular to a method, system, device and set-top box for displaying information of multiple channels in the same picture.

Background technique

In Internet TV (Internet Protocol Television or Interactive PersonalTelevision, IPTV) and two-way digital TV (Digital Television, DTV), there is an electronic program guide (Electronic Program Guide, EPG) display method that simultaneously displays programs of multiple channels on the same screen. , generally referred to as Mosaic (Mosaic). The service experience provided by Mosaic for users is: the display screen is divided into multiple areas, and each area independently displays the programs of a channel, and the user can watch the programs of each channel in these areas, and select the area corresponding to a certain channel through the remote control And click to watch the program of the corresponding channel in full screen. Compared with the channel program list composed of text and pictures, the mosaic can display the program status of each channel in real time, and provide users with a more intuitive and attractive program preview function.

The specific implementation of the mosaic is: the set-top box receives the media streams of each channel program at the same time, decodes each media stream, and divides the display screen into multiple areas, for example, N×M areas, and each area independently displays the programs of one channel. The set-top box combines the contents of the media streams of multiple channel programs and displays them on the screen at the same time. Users can watch the programs of each channel through the small screens in each area. After receiving the command input by the user, the set-top box stops receiving other media streams other than the channel, and plays the program of the channel selected by the user to the user in full screen.

In existing mosaic implementation schemes, a set-top box is required to receive media streams of multiple channels at the same time, which will lead to high cost of the overall implementation scheme, and at the same time greatly complicate the implementation of the set-top box. The reasons are described in detail below.

In an IPTV network, when implementing a 3×3 mosaic service, the set-top box needs to receive media streams on 9 multicast ports, and the decoding chip of the set-top box needs to decode the received 9 media streams at the same time. If a channel needs to occupy a bandwidth of 1.2 to 2.5 megabits per second (Mbps), then a 3×3 mosaic service needs to occupy an access bandwidth of 10.8 to 22.5 Mbps, making it necessary to pass the time when realizing the mosaic service in the IPTV network. more transmission resources. In addition, the decoding chip of the set-top box is required to be able to decode multiple media streams at the same time, and the set-top box is also required to segment the display screen and merge the content of each media stream to be displayed on the screen at the same time. In this way, the complexity of the implementation of the set-top box is very high. High, which will lead to a sharp rise in the cost of the set-top box.

In the DTV network, although the transmission bandwidth is fixed no matter whether one media stream is transmitted or multiple media streams are transmitted at the same time, the implementation of the mosaic service does not occupy additional transmission resources, but the implementation of the mosaic service in the DTV network also requires The set-top box receives multiple media streams at the same time, and the decoding chip of the set-top box is still required to decode the multiple media streams at the same time, and the set-top box is also required to segment the display screen and merge the contents of each media stream to be displayed on the screen at the same time. In this way, The implementation complexity of the set-top box is still very high, resulting in a sharp increase in the cost of the set-top box.

Contents of the invention

In view of this, the present invention provides a method, system, device and set-top box for displaying information of multiple channels on the same screen.

The system for displaying information of multiple channels in the same picture provided by the present invention includes: a picture processor, a middleware server, a set-top box and a terminal, wherein the picture processor is used to process the received multi-channel media streams according to the divided areas of the channels Assembling, merging into one mosaic media stream, and transmitting to the network; the middleware server is used to send the maintained mosaic channel information according to the received request; the set-top box is used to receive the user’s mosaic service start command and request the mosaic channel information, and receive the mosaic media stream from the network according to the received mosaic channel information; the terminal is used to display the content of the mosaic media stream.

The server for displaying information of multiple channels in the same screen provided by the present invention includes: an information maintenance unit and an interface generation unit, wherein the information maintenance unit is used to maintain mosaic media streams assembled and merged into one channel by multiple media streams each channel information; the interface generating unit is used to generate a mosaic transparent control interface according to the channel information and the division area of the channel, and send the mosaic transparent control interface according to the received request, and the mosaic transparent control interface includes Each area of contains the channel ID.

The set-top box for displaying information of multiple channels in the same screen provided by the present invention includes: an interface processing unit, a decoding chip and a superposition unit, wherein the interface processing unit is used to receive and send a mosaic transparent control interface, and the mosaic transparent control interface Each area contained in includes a channel identification; the decoding chip is used to decode and send a received mosaic media stream assembled from multiple media streams; the superposition unit is used to combine the received mosaic transparent control interface with The received mosaic media streams are superimposed and sent.

The method for displaying information of multiple channels in the same screen provided by the present invention includes: the screen processor assembles the received multi-channel media streams according to the divided areas of the channels, and merges them into one mosaic media stream; the set-top box receives the user's mosaic service and starts command to obtain the mosaic channel information through the interaction with the intermediate server, and then request the mosaic media stream from the network according to the mosaic channel information, receive the mosaic media stream from the network, and display the content of the mosaic media stream through the terminal.

In the present invention, a picture processor is set in the system, and the picture processor assembles the received multi-channel media streams according to the divided areas of the channels, and merges them into one mosaic media stream; The interaction of the server obtains the mosaic channel information, and then requests the network for the mosaic media stream according to the mosaic channel information, receives the mosaic media stream from the network, and displays the content of the mosaic media stream through the terminal, so that the media stream for realizing the mosaic service is no longer Multiple channels but only one channel. For networks whose transmission resources increase with the increase in the number of media streams, such as IPTV networks, mosaic services do not need to occupy too many transmission resources; and the set-top box does not need to decode multiple media streams at the same time, reducing the The complexity of the set-top box implementation. In addition, since the assembly of multiple media streams and image processing are completed in the image processor located on the network side, the set-top box does not need to assemble multiple media streams and divide and assemble images, which also reduces the complexity of the implementation of the set-top box. Degree, reducing the cost of the set-top box. To sum up, according to the solution proposed by the present invention, the implementation cost of the mosaic service can be greatly reduced.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a system for realizing a mosaic service in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a schematic structural diagram of a middleware server in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a schematic structural diagram of a middleware server in Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 2C is a schematic structural diagram of a middleware server in Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

3A is a schematic structural diagram of a set-top box in Embodiment 5 of the present invention;

3B is a schematic structural diagram of a set-top box in Embodiment 6 of the present invention;

3C is a schematic structural diagram of a set-top box in Embodiment 7 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of realizing a mosaic service in Embodiment 8 of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of realizing a mosaic service in Embodiment 9 of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of implementing a mosaic service in Embodiment 10 of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a system for realizing a mosaic service in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, a picture processor is set in the system, and the system at least includes a middleware server, a set-top box and a terminal, wherein the picture processor is used for According to the divided area of the channel, the received multi-channel media streams are assembled, merged into one mosaic media stream, and transmitted to the network; the middleware server is used to send and maintain the mosaic channel information according to the received request; the set-top box is used to receive the user The mosaic service start command requests the mosaic channel information, and receives the mosaic media stream from the network according to the received mosaic channel information; the terminal is used to display the content of the mosaic media stream. The divided area information of the channel is the area occupied by each channel on the terminal, which may be pre-configured in the screen processor, or obtained by the screen processor through interaction with other network entities. The picture processor is a device that inputs multiple media streams and outputs one media stream. The specific processing of the picture processor is to reduce the display screen of each input media stream according to the ratio, and then combine the reduced screens into one A complete picture, and then the media stream of the picture is used as an output media stream. The middleware server maintains mosaic channel information, and the mosaic channel information at least includes a mosaic media stream acquisition address, such as a frequency point or a port.

The system for realizing the mosaic service also includes an encoder, which is used to encode the mosaic media stream before transmitting the mosaic media stream.

The middleware server is further used to maintain the channel information that forms the mosaic media stream, generates a mosaic transparent control interface according to the channel information and the divided areas of the channels, and sends the mosaic transparent control interface according to the received request; the set-top box is further used to request The mosaic transparent control interface is superimposed on the received mosaic transparent control interface and the received mosaic media stream; the terminal is further used to display the content of the mosaic media stream including the mosaic transparent control interface. Since the control interface is transparent, it will not affect the content of the mosaic media stream watched by the user. The channel information forming the mosaic media stream at least includes the media stream acquisition address of each channel, such as frequency point or port. Each area included in the mosaic transparent control interface includes a channel identifier, that is, each area in the mosaic transparent control interface corresponds to a channel. When the user moves the focus on each displayed area through the remote control, the mosaic transparent control interface can highlight the area where the focus is located. The channel division area information can be pre-configured in the middleware server, and can also be obtained by the middleware server through interaction with other network entities, for example, the middleware server obtains channel division information through interaction with the screen processor. The user selects the program he wants to watch through the remote control, that is, the user selects the area where a channel is located through the remote control, the Mosaic transparent control interface determines the channel ID corresponding to the area, and sends a switching instruction carrying the channel ID to the set-top box, and the set-top box is further used for According to the channel identification received from the Mosaic transparent control interface, request the network to provide the media stream of the channel, and display the content of the received media stream of the channel in full screen through the terminal.

In practical applications, users can only subscribe to some channels. In this way, the user can only watch the programs provided by the channels with which they have a contract relationship. For those channels that have not signed a contract, the user has no right to watch the programs provided by the corresponding channels. Therefore, After the user selects the desired channel through the mosaic service, it is necessary to check whether the user has the right to watch the programs provided by the corresponding channel. Here are two implementation methods, which can be flexibly selected according to actual needs.

One implementation is that before the set-top box requests the network to provide the media stream of the channel selected by the user, that is, after receiving the channel identifier, it is further used to initiate a permission check request for the corresponding channel, and request the network to provide the corresponding channel according to the received channel information. Media stream; the middleware server is further used to determine whether the user has the right to watch the programs provided by the corresponding channel according to the received request, and after determining that the user has the right, send the corresponding channel information.

Another implementation is that the set-top box receives the mosaic service start command from the user, and further uses it to initiate a permission check request for each channel that constitutes the mosaic media stream, and stores the received associated channel list, and receives the mosaic transparent control interface. After the channel is identified, it is determined that the channel is in the associated channel list, and the network is requested to provide the media stream of the channel selected by the user; the middleware server is further used to determine whether the user has the right to watch the content provided by the channels that make up the mosaic media stream according to the received request. For programs, a list of associated channels is generated and sent according to the channels to which the user has authority.

Fig. 2A is the schematic structural diagram of middleware server in the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 2A, middleware server at least includes information maintenance unit and interface generation unit, wherein, information maintenance unit is used for maintaining each channel that forms mosaic media flow information; the interface generation unit is used to generate a mosaic transparent control interface according to the information of each channel and the division area of the channel, and send the mosaic transparent control interface according to the received request, and each area contained in the mosaic transparent control interface contains a channel identifier.

Based on FIG. 2A, the middleware server further includes: an authority determination unit and a channel information unit, as shown in FIG. 2B, wherein the authority determination unit is used to check whether the user has the authority to watch the channel provided by the channel carried in the request according to the received request. For programs, after determining that the user has authority, send a notification to determine channel information; the channel information unit is used to determine and send channel information according to the received notification.

Or, based on FIG. 2A, the middleware server further includes: a permission checking unit and a list generating unit, as shown in FIG. 2C, wherein the permission checking unit is used to check whether the user has permission to watch the mosaic media stream according to the received request. The programs provided by the channels determine and send the channels that the user has permission to; the list generation unit is used to generate and send the associated channel list according to the received channels.

Fig. 3A is a schematic structural diagram of a set-top box in Embodiment 5 of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 3A, the set-top box at least includes: an interface processing unit, a decoding chip and a superposition unit, wherein the interface processing unit is used to receive and send a mosaic transparent control interface, the Each area contained in the mosaic transparent control interface contains channel identification; the decoding chip is used to decode and send the received mosaic media stream; the overlay unit is used to superimpose the received mosaic transparent control interface and the received mosaic media stream and send.

Based on FIG. 3A, the set-top box further includes: a permission request unit and a media stream request unit, as shown in FIG. 3B, wherein the permission request unit is used to initiate a permission check request of the corresponding channel after receiving the channel identifier and send the received channel Information; the media stream request unit is used to request the network to provide the media stream of the corresponding channel according to the received channel information.

Or, based on FIG. 3A, the set-top box further includes: a list request unit, a list storage unit, and a media stream request unit, as shown in FIG. 3C, wherein the list request unit is used to initiate mosaic mosaic composition after receiving the mosaic service start command from the user. The permission check request of each channel of the media stream, and send the received associated channel list; the list storage unit is used to store the received associated channel list, and after receiving the channel identifier, determine that the channel is in the associated channel list, and send The channel information of the corresponding channel; the media stream requesting unit is used for requesting the network to provide the media stream of the corresponding channel according to the received channel information.

In the method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, a picture processor is set in the system, and the picture processor assembles the received multi-channel media streams according to the divided areas of the channels, and merges them into one mosaic media stream; the set-top box receives the user's mosaic service start command to obtain the mosaic channel information through the interaction with the intermediate server, and then request the mosaic media stream from the network according to the mosaic channel information, receive the mosaic media stream from the network, and display the content of the mosaic media stream through the terminal. The picture processor is a device that inputs multiple media streams and outputs one media stream. The specific processing of the picture processor is to reduce the display screen of each input media stream according to the ratio, and then combine the reduced screens into one A complete picture, and then the media stream of the picture is used as an output media stream.

Fig. 4 is the flow chart that realizes mosaic business in the eighth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 4, the process of realizing mosaic business comprises the following steps:

Steps 401 to 403: The image processor assembles the received multiple media streams according to the divided areas of the channels, merges them into one mosaic media stream, and sends the mosaic media stream to the encoder. The encoder encodes the received mosaic media stream, and then transmits the encoded mosaic media stream to the network.

Steps 404 to 405: configure the channel information, channel division area, and mosaic channel information that make up the mosaic media stream on the middleware server, and the middleware server generates a mosaic transparent control interface according to the division area of the channel, and the mosaic transparent control interface Each included area contains a channel ID, that is, each area in the mosaic transparent control interface corresponds to a channel. The mosaic channel information at least includes an acquisition address of the mosaic media stream, such as a frequency point or a port; the information of each channel constituting the mosaic media stream at least includes the media stream acquisition address of each channel, such as a frequency point or a port.

In addition, the division area of the channel may also be obtained by the middleware server through interaction with other network entities, for example, the middleware server obtains the division information of the channel through the interaction with the screen processor.

Steps 406 to 408: After receiving the user's command to start the mosaic service, the STB requests the middleware server for the mosaic channel information and the mosaic transparent control interface. After receiving the request from the set-top box, the middleware server returns the mosaic channel information and the mosaic transparent control interface to the set-top box.

Step 409-Step 411: The set-top box requests the mosaic media stream from the network according to the received mosaic channel information, then decodes the received mosaic media stream, and superimposes the decoded mosaic media stream on the received mosaic transparent control interface, Display mosaic media streaming content including a mosaic transparent control interface on the terminal. Since the control interface is transparent, it will not affect the content of the mosaic media stream watched by the user.

When the user moves the focus on each displayed area through the remote control, the mosaic transparent control interface can highlight the area where the focus is located.

Step 412: The user selects the desired program through the remote control, that is, the user selects an area where a channel is located through the remote control, the mosaic transparent control interface determines the channel ID corresponding to the area, and sends a switching instruction carrying the channel ID to the set-top box.

Step 413 - Step 414: After receiving the switching instruction, the set-top box requests the media stream of the corresponding channel from the network, decodes the received media stream of the corresponding channel, and displays the decoded media stream content on the terminal. In addition, since the middleware server maintains the channel information that makes up the mosaic media stream, before the set-top box requests the media stream of the corresponding channel from the network, it further obtains more information related to the corresponding channel through interaction with the middleware server. In order to better provide users with the media stream of the corresponding channel.

In the process described above, steps 401-403 and steps 404-405 have no obvious chronological sequence in execution. During the process of steps 404-405, steps 401-403 are always executed, and, in Steps 401 to 403 are also always executed during the processing of steps 406 to 414, that is, the image processor provides the mosaic media stream to the encoder in real time, and the encoder encodes the received mosaic media stream.

Fig. 5 is the flow chart that realizes mosaic business in embodiment 9 of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 5, the processing process that realizes mosaic business in specific embodiment 1 comprises the following steps:

Steps 501 to 512 are the same as steps 401 to 412.

Step 513 to Step 515: After receiving the switching instruction, the set-top box sends a channel switching request to the middleware server, and the channel switching request carries a channel identifier. After receiving the channel switching request, the middleware server checks whether the user has the right to watch the programs provided by the channel corresponding to the channel identifier, and after confirming that the user has the right, sends the channel information to the set-top box. If the middleware server determines that the user does not have permission, the current process will be ended directly.

Steps 516-517: After receiving the channel information, the set-top box requests the network for the media stream of the corresponding channel, decodes the received media stream of the corresponding channel, and displays the decoded media stream content on the terminal.

Fig. 6 is the flow chart that realizes the mosaic business in the tenth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 6, the processing process that realizes the mosaic business in the specific embodiment 2 includes the following steps:

Steps 601 to 608 are the same as steps 401 to 408.

Step 609-Step 611: The set-top box requests the list of associated channels from the middleware server, requests the middleware server to check the user's authority on the channels that make up the mosaic media stream, and provides information about the corresponding channels that the user is authorized to watch. After the middleware server receives the request, it checks the user's authority for each channel that makes up the mosaic media stream, and after determining the channel that the user has the authority to watch, generates an associated channel list with the information of the channel that the user has the authority to watch, and provides the set-top box with the information. Associating the channel list, the set-top box stores the received associating channel list.

If the middleware server determines that the user does not have permission to watch the channels that make up the mosaic media stream, the current process can be ended directly.

Steps 607 to 608 and steps 609 to 611 have no obvious chronological order and can be executed at the same time; steps 607 to 608 can also be executed first, and then steps 609 to 611 can be executed; steps 609 to 611 can also be executed first 611, execute steps 607 to 608 again.

Step 612-step 615 are the same as step 409-step 412.

Step 616-Step 618: After receiving the switching instruction, the STB determines that the channel identifier is in the associated channel list, then requests the network for the media stream of the corresponding channel according to the information of the corresponding channel in the associated channel list, and the received media stream of the corresponding channel Decode and display the decoded media stream content on the terminal. If the set-top box determines that the channel identifier is not in the associated channel list, the current process is directly ended.

The above-mentioned set-top box requests the network to provide the channel media flow can be: the set-top box requests the Business Management System (Business Management System, BMS) to create a session, the BMS creates a session and allocates various network and system resources, and the BMS applies to the media server for asset resource allocation, Asset scheduling and media stream playback preparation, the set-top box requests the media server to play the media stream through the media stream control protocol interface, receives the media stream, and displays it to the user through the terminal in full screen.

Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalent technologies, the present invention also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims (13)

1. A system for displaying information on a plurality of channels on a same screen, the system comprising: picture processor, middleware server, set-top box and terminal, wherein,

the picture processor is used for splicing the received multiple media streams according to the divided regions of the channels, combining the multiple media streams into one mosaic media stream and transmitting the mosaic media stream to the network;

the middleware server is used for sending the maintained mosaic channel information according to the received request;

the set-top box is used for receiving a mosaic service starting command of a user, requesting mosaic channel information and receiving a mosaic media stream from a network according to the received mosaic channel information;

the terminal is used for displaying the content of the mosaic media stream.

2. The system of claim 1,

the middleware server is further configured to: maintaining information of each channel forming the mosaic media stream, generating a mosaic transparent control interface according to the information of each channel and a division region of the channel, and sending the mosaic transparent control interface according to a received request, wherein each region contained in the mosaic transparent control interface contains a channel identifier;

the set-top box is further configured to: requesting a mosaic transparent control interface, and superposing the received mosaic transparent control interface and the received mosaic media stream;

the terminal is further configured to: and displaying the mosaic media stream content comprising the mosaic transparent control interface.

3. The system of claim 2,

the user selects the area where the channel is located, and the mosaic transparent control interface sends the channel identification corresponding to the area;

the set-top box is further configured to: and requesting a network to provide the media stream of the channel according to the received channel identifier, and displaying the content of the received media stream of the channel in a full screen mode through the terminal.

4. The system of claim 3,

the set-top box is further configured to: initiating a permission check request of the channel, and requesting a network to provide a media stream of the corresponding channel according to the received channel information; the middleware server is further configured to: determining whether the user has the authority to watch the program provided by the channel according to the received request, and transmitting the information of the channel after determining that the user has the authority; or,

the set-top box is further configured to: initiating a permission check request aiming at each channel forming the mosaic media stream, storing the received associated channel list, and requesting a network to provide the media stream of the channel after determining that the channel is in the associated channel list after receiving the channel identifier; the middleware server is further configured to: and determining whether the user has the authority to watch programs provided by each channel forming the mosaic media stream according to the received request, and generating and transmitting an associated channel list according to the channels of which the user has the authority.

5. A server for displaying information on a plurality of channels on a same screen, the server comprising at least: an information maintenance unit and an interface generation unit, wherein,

the information maintenance unit is used for maintaining the information of each channel of the mosaic media stream which is spliced and combined into one path by a plurality of paths of media streams;

the interface generating unit is used for generating a mosaic transparent control interface according to the information of each channel and the divided area of the channel, and sending the mosaic transparent control interface according to the received request, wherein each area contained in the mosaic transparent control interface contains a channel identifier.

6. The server according to claim 5,

the server further comprises: the system comprises an authority determining unit and a channel information unit, wherein the authority determining unit is used for checking whether a user has the authority to watch programs provided by a channel carried in a request according to the received request, and sending a notification for determining channel information after determining that the user has the authority; the channel information unit is used for determining and sending channel information according to the received notification; or,

the server further comprises: the system comprises an authority checking unit and a list generating unit, wherein the authority checking unit is used for checking whether a user has authority to watch programs provided by each channel forming the mosaic media stream according to a received request, and determining and transmitting the channels which the user has the authority; the list generating unit is used for generating and sending an associated channel list according to the received channels.

7. A set-top box for displaying information of a plurality of channels in a same picture, the set-top box comprising at least: interface processing unit, decoding chip and superposition unit, wherein,

the interface processing unit is used for receiving and sending a mosaic transparent control interface, and each area contained in the mosaic transparent control interface contains a channel identifier;

the decoding chip is used for decoding and sending the received one-path mosaic media stream assembled by the multiple paths of media streams;

and the superposition unit is used for superposing and sending the received mosaic transparent control interface and the received mosaic media stream.

8. The set top box of claim 7, wherein a user selects a region where a channel is located, and the mosaic transparent control interface sends a channel identifier corresponding to the region;

the set-top box further comprises: the system comprises a permission request unit and a media stream request unit, wherein the permission request unit is used for initiating a permission check request of the channel and sending the received channel information after receiving the channel identifier; the media stream request unit is used for requesting the network to provide the media stream of the channel according to the received channel information; or,

the set-top box further comprises: the system comprises a list request unit, a list storage unit and a media stream request unit, wherein the list request unit is used for initiating a permission check request aiming at each channel forming a mosaic media stream and sending a received associated channel list after receiving a mosaic service starting command of a user; the list storage unit is used for storing the received associated channel list, determining that the channel is in the associated channel list after receiving the channel identifier, and sending the channel information of the corresponding channel; the media stream request unit is used for requesting the network to provide the media stream of the corresponding channel according to the received channel information.

9. A method for displaying information of a plurality of channels on a same screen, the method comprising:

the picture processor assembles the received multi-path media stream according to the divided regions of the channels and combines the multi-path media stream into a mosaic media stream;

the set-top box receives a mosaic service starting command of a user, acquires mosaic channel information through interaction with the intermediate server, then requests a mosaic media stream from a network according to the mosaic channel information, receives the mosaic media stream from the network, and displays the content of the mosaic media stream through the terminal.

10. The method of claim 9,

the method further comprises the following steps: the middleware server generates a mosaic transparent control interface according to the divided regions of the channels, wherein each region contained in the mosaic transparent control interface contains a channel identifier;

the displaying, by the terminal, the content of the mosaic media stream further includes: the set-top box requests a mosaic transparent control interface from the middleware server, and the set-top box superposes the received mosaic transparent control interface with the received mosaic media stream.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the divided regions of the channels are configured in the middleware server in advance; or the middleware server acquires the divided regions of the channels through interaction with a network entity.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the displaying the content of the mosaic media stream by the terminal further comprises: the user selects the area where the channel is located, the mosaic transparent control interface sends the channel identification corresponding to the area, the set top box requests the network to provide the media stream of the channel according to the received channel identification, and the content of the received media stream of the channel is displayed in a full screen mode through the terminal.

13. The method of claim 12,

the set-top box requests the network to provide the media stream of the channel, which further comprises: the set-top box initiates a request for checking the permission of the channel to a middleware server, the middleware server determines whether a user has the permission to watch the program provided by the channel according to the received request, and sends the information of the channel to the set-top box after determining that the user has the permission; or,

the set-top box receives a mosaic service starting command of a user, and then further comprises: the method comprises the steps that a set top box initiates an authority check request aiming at each channel forming a mosaic media stream to a middleware server, the middleware server generates and sends an associated channel list according to the channels which a user has authority to watch, and the set top box stores the received associated channel list; the set-top box requests the network to provide the media stream of the channel, which further comprises: the set-top box determines whether the received channel identifier is in the associated channel list, and if so, requests the network to provide the media stream of the channel.

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