JP2003208542A - Contents delivery system, contents delivery device, contents receiver and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mechanism capable of allowing a user to look and listen contents free, improving the audience rating of advertisement to a sponsor of the advertisement. <P>SOLUTION: A delivery center 1 has an enciphering processing part 12 for enciphering the contents, and an advertisement information creating part for synthesizing key data for decoding the enciphered contents. A receiver has a key data extract processing part 23 for extracting key data from the advertisement information in which the key data is synthesized, which has been received from the delivery center 1, a decoding processing part 24 for decoding the contents enciphered contents received from the delivery center 1 with the extracted key data, and an output control part 25 for outputting the decoded contents to a designated output device after outputting the advertisement information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for delivering contents including at least one of image data, sound data and text data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Systems for distributing contents such as digital images via a network such as the Internet or a broadcasting network have become widespread. As an example of such a system, there is a mechanism in which encrypted content is provided to the user, and when the user pays a predetermined fee, the decryption key of this content is passed and the content is viewed. . This makes it possible for recipients to make unauthorized copies without paying for content acquisition,
It is possible to prevent illegal distribution of contents.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional system, since the user himself / herself who views the content has to pay the fee himself, the content such as the program is viewed as in the case of the conventional private broadcasting. There is a possibility that users who are not accustomed to paying the fee individually when they do this may dislike paying the fee, which is one of the reasons why the content distribution service is not widely used and used.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to promote the use of a content distribution system, and at the same time, for a sponsor who provides advertisement information, Improve audience rating,
The challenge is to provide a mechanism that can enhance the advertising effect.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one content distribution system according to the present invention is a distribution device for distributing content and advertisement information, and a predetermined content upon receiving the distributed content and advertisement information. A system comprising a receiving device for outputting to an output device of
The distribution device has an encryption means for encrypting the content, and a synthesizing means for synthesizing the advertisement information with key data for decrypting the encrypted content, and the receiving device, Using key data extraction means for extracting key data from the advertisement information in which the key data is combined, which is received from the distribution device, and the extracted key data,
It has a decryption unit for decrypting the encrypted content received from the distribution device, and an output control unit for outputting the decrypted content to a predetermined output device after outputting the advertisement information. It is characterized by

[0006] A content distribution apparatus according to the present invention extracts key data combined with received advertisement information, decrypts encrypted content using the extracted key data, and extracts the advertisement information. Is a device for delivering the content to a receiving device that controls a predetermined output device so as to output the decrypted content after outputting, and an encryption unit for encrypting the content to be delivered to the receiving device. And a synthesizing unit that synthesizes key data for decrypting the encrypted content with the advertisement information, and a distributing unit that distributes the generated advertisement information and content to the receiving device. It is characterized by

One content receiving device according to the present invention is a content distribution device and an advertisement distributed from a content distribution device for distributing advertisement information in which encrypted content and key data for decrypting this content are combined. A device for receiving information, the key data extracting means for extracting the key data from the advertisement information, which is distributed from the distribution device and combined with the key data, and the distribution device using the extracted key data. And decryption means for decrypting the encrypted content received from the device, and output control means for outputting the decrypted content to a predetermined output device after outputting the advertisement information. And

The decrypting means may erase the key data for decryption after outputting the content.

A computer program according to a first aspect of the present invention extracts key data combined with advertisement information provided by a sponsor, and decrypts encrypted contents using the extracted key data. A computer program for causing a computer to function as a device that distributes content to a receiving device that controls a predetermined output device to output the decrypted content after outputting the advertisement information. A process of encrypting the content to be provided to the receiving device to the computer, a process of combining key information for decrypting the encrypted content with the advertisement information, the generated advertisement information, and And a process of delivering the content to the receiving device.

A computer program according to a second aspect of the present invention is a content distributed from a content distribution device that distributes advertisement information in which encrypted content and key data for decrypting this content are combined. And a computer program for causing a computer to function as a device for receiving advertisement information, the process of extracting key data from the advertisement information, which is obtained by combining the key data and received from the distribution device, to the computer. , A process of decrypting the encrypted content received from the distribution device by using the extracted key data, and after outputting the advertisement information, outputting the decrypted content to a predetermined output device It is characterized by performing processing and executing it.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a content distribution system according to the present embodiment. The content distribution system according to the present embodiment comprises a distribution center 1 and a receiving device 2 capable of receiving the content distributed from the distribution center 1 through a network such as the Internet, a broadcast wave, a communication line, or the like. It is configured.

The distribution center 1 constitutes a content distribution device for distributing contents and the like. The distribution center 1 is composed of a computer and has a CPU (Central Processing Un
it) and the computer program executed by the CPU,
The functional blocks shown in FIG. 1 are configured by an internal memory such as RAM and ROM and an external storage device such as a hard disk device. The functional block shown in FIG. 1 includes a distribution information table 11, an encryption processing unit 12, an advertisement information creating unit 13, and a distribution processing unit 14.

The distribution information table 11 is a storage unit for storing contents and the like to be distributed to the receiving device. Figure 2
An example of data stored in the distribution information table 11 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the distribution information table 11 can store a content number, content, and advertisement information. The content number is identification information for identifying each content. Further, as the content data, for example, a file including an image (including a still image and a moving image), text data, sound data, and the like is stored. The advertisement information is advertisement information provided by the content sponsor. As the advertisement information, for example, a file including digital data such as an image (including a still image and a moving image), text data, and sound data is stored.

The encryption processing unit 12 performs a process of encrypting the content by a predetermined encryption algorithm. As this encryption algorithm, for example, DES (Data Enc
A common key cryptographic algorithm such as ryption Standard) or a public key cryptographic algorithm such as RSA may be used.

The advertisement information creating unit 13 performs a process of combining the decryption key data for decrypting the encrypted content with the advertisement information. As the synthesizing process, for example, digital watermark or steganography may be used to embed the decryption key data in the advertisement information as digital data.

The distribution processing unit 14 distributes the advertising information in which the encrypted advertising information and the decryption key data are combined to the receiving device 2 via a network such as the Internet, a broadcast wave, a communication line or the like. I do.

The receiving device 2 is a device that receives the content and advertisement information distributed from the distribution center 1 and outputs them to a predetermined output device. The receiving device 2 includes a CPU,
A computer program executed by the CPU, a RAM,
The functional blocks shown in FIG. 1 are configured by an internal memory such as a ROM and an external storage device such as a hard disk drive. The functional blocks of the receiving device 2 shown in FIG. 1 are the information storage unit 21, the transmission / reception processing unit 22, and the key data extraction processing unit 2.
3, a decoding processing unit 24, and an output control unit 25.

The information storage unit 21 can store contents distributed from the distribution center 1 and advertisement information. The transmission / reception processing unit 22 performs a process of receiving content and advertisement information distributed from the distribution center 1. Also,
The transmission / reception unit 22 requests the transmission of the advertisement information from the user,
Distribution center via specified network or communication line
Perform processing to send to 1.

The key data extraction processing unit 23 performs a process of extracting the key data combined with the advertisement information. As this processing, for example, when the key data is embedded in the advertisement information by a digital watermark, the key data extraction processing unit 2
3 can analyze the sample value and the frequency component of the image data and extract the key data embedded therein.

The decryption processing section 24 uses the extracted key data to decrypt the content encrypted by a predetermined decryption algorithm. The decryption processing unit 24 is configured to decrypt the content with a decryption algorithm corresponding to the encryption algorithm of the encryption processing unit 12.

The output control section 25 carries out a process of outputting the advertising information and the decrypted contents to a predetermined output device such as a display device or a television receiver. Further, when outputting the content, the output control unit 25 controls to output the content after the output of the advertisement information is completed.

Next, a content distribution method according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the distribution information table stores content and advertisement information provided by the sponsor of the content in advance. In FIG. 3, the encryption processing unit 12 refers to the distribution information table 11 to encrypt the content to be distributed by a predetermined encryption algorithm (S
1). When the encryption is completed, the distribution processing unit 14 distributes the content number and the encrypted content to the receiving device 2 via a predetermined network or broadcasting network (S).
2).

The transmission / reception processing unit 22 receives the distributed content number and advertisement information, and stores the received data in the information storage unit 21 (S3). In this state, when the output of the received content is requested by the user, the transmission / reception processing unit 22 requests the distribution center 1 to transmit the advertisement information for the content (S4).
This request is made by, for example, the transmission / reception processing unit 22 notifying the content number or the like via a network such as the Internet or a telephone line.

When the advertisement information transmission request is made, the advertisement information creation unit 13 specifies the advertisement information associated with the content from the notified content number and decrypts the content in the advertisement information. The decryption key data is embedded and combined (S5). The delivery processing unit 14
The advertisement information combined with the decryption key data is distributed to the receiving device 2 via a predetermined network, communication line, broadcast network, or the like (S6).

When the transmission / reception processor 22 receives the distributed advertisement information, the output controller 25 causes the output device such as a display to output the advertisement information (S7). On the other hand, at the same time that the advertisement information is output, the key data extraction unit 23 extracts the key data embedded in the advertisement information (S8). When the key data is extracted, the decryption processing unit 24 decrypts the encrypted content stored in the information storage unit 21 with the extracted key data (S9). Then, after the output of the advertisement information is completed, the output control unit 25 causes the output device to output the content (S10), and ends the process.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the encryption processing unit 12 encrypts and distributes the content, and the advertisement information creating unit 13 decrypts the content when the content is output. The advertisement information in which the key data is embedded is distributed, the key data extraction processing unit 23 extracts the key data from the advertisement information, the decryption processing unit 24 uses the key data to decrypt the content, and the output control unit Since the 25 outputs the decrypted content after outputting the advertisement information, the user can view the content for free only by viewing the advertisement information provided by the sponsor. This allows
The number of times the user accesses the content increases, and the distribution of the content can be promoted.

Further, since the viewer provides the content after viewing the advertisement, the sponsor providing the advertisement can improve the audience rating of the advertisement and enhance the advertisement effect.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the advertisement information in which the key data is embedded is acquired when the content is output, but the advertisement information may be delivered at the same time as the content. An embodiment of such an advertisement information providing method will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, first, the encryption processing unit 12 encrypts the content (S101). Further, the advertisement information creating unit 13 creates advertisement information by embedding key data for decrypting the encrypted content in the advertisement information for the content (S102). When these data are created, the delivery processing unit 14 delivers the encrypted content and the advertisement information in which the decryption key is embedded to the receiving device 2 (S103).

The transmission / reception processing unit 22 stores the distributed content and advertisement information in the information storage unit 21 (S10).
4). When the user issues a content output request in this state, the output control unit 25 outputs the advertisement information to a predetermined output device such as a display (S105). On the other hand, the key data extraction processing unit 23 extracts the key data embedded in the advertisement information (S106).

On the other hand, the decryption processing unit 23 outputs the advertisement information and at the same time, decrypts the encrypted content using the extracted key data by a predetermined decryption algorithm (S107). After the output of the advertisement information is completed, the output control unit 25 outputs the decrypted content (S108) and ends the process.

As described above, also in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the user can view the content for free by viewing the advertisement information provided by the sponsor, as in the above embodiment. . Also, since the viewers are supposed to provide the content after watching the advertisement,
For the sponsor who provides the advertisement, the audience rating of the advertisement can be improved and the advertisement effect can be enhanced.

In each of the above embodiments, the decryption processing unit 24 may erase the key data from the receiving device 2 after decrypting and outputting the content. As a result, when the user views the same content next time, the receiving device 2 does not have the decryption key, so that the user can view the advertisement information again, and increase the number of times the advertisement information is viewed.
The advertising effect can be further enhanced.

The distribution center 1 and the receiving device 2 according to the above embodiments may be dedicated devices, or may be realized by using a general-purpose computer and a computer program. When it is realized by using a general-purpose computer, for example, a computer program for executing the above-described operation on the general-purpose computer and a computer-readable medium (FD, CD-R) storing the computer program.
Each device that executes the above-described processing may be configured by installing a computer program from the OM or the like). It should be noted that the above-mentioned functions are provided in the OS (Operating)
In the case where the system) is shared or realized by cooperation between the OS and the application program, only the part other than the OS may be stored as a computer program, or the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable medium.

It is also possible to superimpose each computer program for the distribution center 1 or the receiving device 2 on a carrier wave and distribute it via a communication network. For example, the program may be posted on a bulletin board (BBS) of a communication network and distributed via the network. Then, this computer program may be started up and executed in the same manner as other application programs under the control of the OS to execute the above-mentioned processing.

[0035]

According to the present invention, it is possible to promote the use of the content distribution system, increase the possibility that the user views the advertisement information, and enhance the advertising effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a content distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a distribution information table according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a processing flow chart showing a content distribution method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a processing flow chart showing a content distribution method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 distribution center 2 Receiver 12 Encryption processing unit 13 Advertising information creation department 14 Delivery processing unit 23 Key Data Extraction Processing Unit 24 Decoding processing unit 25 Output control unit

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04L 9/08 H04L 9/00 601B H04N 7/08 H04N 7/167 Z 7/081 7/08 Z 7/167 F term (Reference) 5B085 AA08 AE29 5C063 AB03 AB05 AC01 CA23 DA07 DA13 DB09 5C064 CA14 CB01 CC02 5J104 AA12 AA16 EA09 EA15 JA13 JA28 PA07

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A system comprising a distribution device that distributes content and advertisement information provided by a sponsor of the content, and a receiving device that receives the distributed content and advertisement information and outputs it to a predetermined output device. The distribution device includes an encryption unit that encrypts the content, and a synthesis unit that synthesizes the advertisement information with key data for decrypting the encrypted content. Is a key data extraction means for extracting key data from the advertisement information in which the key data is combined, which is received from the distribution device, and the encrypted content received from the distribution device using the extracted key data. And a decoding means for decoding the above-mentioned decrypted contents to a predetermined output device after outputting the above-mentioned advertisement information. Content delivery system comprising: the means. 2. The key data combined with the advertisement information provided by the sponsor is extracted, the encrypted content is decrypted using the extracted key data, the advertisement information is output, and then the decryption is performed. A device for distributing content to a receiving device that controls a predetermined output device so as to output the converted content, and an encryption means for encrypting the content to be distributed to the receiving device; Content distribution characterized by having a synthesizing means for synthesizing key data for decrypting the encrypted content, and a distributing means for distributing the generated advertisement information and content to the receiving device. apparatus. 3. Content and advertisement distributed from a content distribution device for distributing encrypted content and advertisement information provided by a sponsor of this content and combining key data for decrypting the content. A device for receiving information, the key data extracting means for extracting key data from the advertisement information, which is distributed from the distribution device and is combined with the key data, and the distribution using the extracted key data. A decryption unit that decrypts the encrypted content received from the device; and an output control unit that outputs the decrypted content to a predetermined output device after outputting the advertisement information. A characteristic content receiving device. 4. The content receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the decryption unit erases the key data for decryption after outputting the content. 5. The key data combined with the advertisement information provided by the sponsor is extracted, the encrypted content is decrypted using the extracted key data, the advertisement information is output, and then the decryption is performed. A computer program for causing a computer to function as a device that distributes content to a receiving device that controls a predetermined output device to output the converted content, the content being provided to the receiving device for the computer. And a process of synthesizing the advertisement information with key data for decrypting the encrypted content, and a process of delivering the generated advertisement information and content to the receiving device. , A computer program for running. 6. The content and the advertisement information distributed from a content distribution device that distributes the encrypted content and the advertisement information provided by the sponsor and combined with key data for decrypting the content. A computer program for causing a computer to function as a receiving device, the process of extracting key data from advertisement information, which is received from the distribution device and is combined with the key data, to the computer, and A process of decrypting the encrypted content received from the distribution device using the key data; a process of outputting the decrypted content after outputting the advertisement information, to a predetermined output device; A computer program for executing.