Method of seamless playback between download data and streaming data by using local web server, and device therefor

1 . A method of operating a terminal for seamless playback of content, the method comprising:

downloading and storing in a storage of the terminal, by a download agent of the terminal, initial segments of each of a plurality of contents, wherein the initial segments of each content comprise at least some of a plurality of media segments composing each content;

transferring, by a local web server of the terminal, initial segments of a first content among the media segments stored in the storage to a player of the terminal;

requesting, by the local web server, the download agent to download remaining segments of the first content;

transmitting, by the download agent, a storage notification to the local web server indicating that the remaining segments of the first content have been stored in the storage; and

transferring, by the local web server, the remaining segments of the first content to the player responsive to receiving the storage notification.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

requesting, by the player, the remaining segments of the first content from the local web server.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, before the transferring:

receiving, by the player, a content playback request including a streaming URL of the first content; and

requesting, by the player, the initial segments of the first content from the local web server.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

removing, by the download agent, unneeded media segments among the media segments of the first content stored in the storage in response to a content change request into a second content distinct from the first content.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the unneeded media segments comprise:

other media segments among the media segments of the first content stored in the storage, excluding media segments for playing the first content from a beginning and media segments for continuously playing the first content from a last viewing point.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the initial segments of each content have a certain number that is greater than a minimum required number of segments to be buffered in the player at a start of playback to overcome network jitter.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the initial segments of each content comprise:

media segments by a preset number that is counted from a first media segment of each of the contents.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the initial segments of each content comprise:

media segments by a preset number that is counted from a media segment corresponding to a last viewing point of each of the contents.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of content comprises:

a plurality of different videos, or a plurality of different sections within a single video.

10 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing instructions for causing, when executed by a computer, the computer to perform the method according to claim 1 .

11 . A terminal, comprising:

a download agent configured to:

download and store in a storage initial segments of each of a plurality of contents, wherein the initial segments of each content comprise at least some of a plurality of media segments composing each content,

transmit a storage notification indicating that remaining segments of a content of the plurality of contents have been stored in the storage; and

a local web server configured to:

transfer, to a player, initial segments of the content of the media segments stored in the storage and to request the download agent to download the remaining segments of the content, and

transfer the remaining segments of the content to the player responsive to receiving the storage notification.