JP2003244615A - Information processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To update metadata independently of whether or not an apparatus for processing contents is capable of processing the metadata when the apparatus applies processing to the contents. <P>SOLUTION: When the information processing apparatus edits the contents to which metadata including meta-metadata (3-e, f, l, r) to indicate edit contents giving effect on the validity of the metadata are attached, the information processing apparatus references the meta-metadata to discriminate the validity of respective metadata items. For example, when the information processing apparatus performs sepia processing, since the color tone is revised, the metadata items of the Dominant Color is discriminated to be ineffective according to the description 3-e. The metadata items discriminated to be ineffective (e.g. metadata items 3-c to 3-i of the dominant color) are deleted. <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 an information processing apparatus and method using metadata.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Due to the improvement in capacity and cost reduction of small computer systems, home electric appliances are generally equipped with a computer for controlling and processing the information. In addition to video and music supplied as digital data, high-definition contents such as video and audio have been supplied, and multimedia contents in which these are mixed have been spread. Furthermore, the spread of the Internet, which is a global computer network, and the realization of low-cost mobile communications in recent years have made it possible to easily obtain and enjoy these contents.

[0003] Household video equipment also changes from recording analog broadcasts and enjoying images and music supplied by media to equipment that records and reproduces moving pictures and sounds as high-quality digital data that does not deteriorate. Has transitioned. For example, small and inexpensive digital video recording devices that can handle digital data, digital video cameras that can be purchased at ordinary homes, etc. have appeared, and it is possible to shoot digital video at home and enjoy watching it. There is.

As a result, there are increasing opportunities to perform video shooting and editing, which were performed by broadcasting companies, at home. Broadcasting companies have advanced equipment for shooting and editing, and engineers with advanced technology for editing and configuring to make the contents easier to understand. Preparing these at home is unlikely. Therefore, the editing of the content shot by a home-use video camera is not performed so often due to the need for expensive equipment and advanced editing technology. However, not only movies taken at home but also various media and communication means such as the Internet will increase the amount of information and contents distributed to homes, which will be multimedia information and contents such as movies and sounds. The function of information retrieval for such contents is becoming very important.

With the expansion of the infrastructure for distributing and transmitting information, including the Internet, the time has come for individuals to transmit information as well, and the transmission of information centered on video and audio is beginning. . Therefore, in the future, it is expected that there will be an increasing need for such a search function for multimedia information and content information on the Internet. Also, the search function needs to be easily handled by an amateur.

Furthermore, since it is becoming easier to deliver the latest information and contents in real time through the constant connection of the Internet and mobile communication, even broadcasting companies can efficiently obtain the latest images. It is very important to edit, edit, etc. Under such circumstances, there is a need for a function that allows existing information and contents to be quickly searched and reflected in new information and contents, and a function that facilitates editing and processing of those contents. Become.

[0007] In particular, information such as a moving image which has a large amount of information and changes in content over time is very bulky to store, and it is very difficult to easily search for the content. For the same digital data, if it is document data or the like, it is not difficult for a computer to find a part including a character or word by pointing to it. However, in the case of a moving image or a sound, there is almost no situation in which completely matching information is presented and the information is searched for, and a situation in which a part similar in some sense is searched is general. In addition, since it is very difficult for a computer to understand the contents expressed by the video or audio, it is also very difficult to search for the contents of the contents. There is.

As described above, the contents to be handled including the video contents are bloated, and there is a strong demand for facilitating searching, editing, and processing of those contents.

In such an environment, rather than interpreting the contents of the huge contents, the characteristics and characteristics of the contents are stored as metadata inside or outside the contents and the information is used. Devices that realize functions such as search have appeared.

For example, with respect to contents and information such as moving images, still images, and sounds, linguistic descriptions such as keywords and explanations representing the contents and characteristics, and characteristics of images and sounds in a format easy to process by a computer. A method has been proposed in which non-linguistic information describing the above is added as metadata to facilitate the retrieval and use thereof.

Regarding the metadata itself, MPE
Common format movements such as G-7 have begun. However, such metadata is enormous and diverse, and not all devices can handle all the enormous and diverse metadata. Therefore, a device that uses such metadata may encounter unknown metadata at all times, but is in a situation where it has only a function of ignoring it.

[0012]

Various kinds of metadata are added, and each company creates its own system for storing the metadata. When there is a situation where the
This creates a situation where unknown metadata or metadata that cannot be supported exists due to device specifications. However, even with respect to such metadata, if some kind of basic operation can be performed and at least the function of copying is not provided, it will be difficult to even attach the metadata to the content.

When an editing operation that affects the description of metadata is performed on the content, the metadata may not be available. As an example, when a certain section of the content is changed to the sepia color, the metadata describing the representative color for the section becomes meaningless as it is. Here, if the device that has performed such an editing operation does not support the metadata, the invalid metadata remains attached, and the metadata cannot be used correctly.

As described above, in a situation where metadata is added to various multimedia contents such as moving images, still images, and sounds, the multimedia contents are edited and processed. In some cases, the characteristics or state of the metadata may have to change. Also, there may be enough metadata that becomes unavailable.

To solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-07
Systems such as 7116 have been proposed. This system uses object (data) and attributes (metadata) to distribute the load when using an object-oriented data management method, and distributes processing according to the attributes and various states. There is a central processing unit for judging the above, and by this processing unit, it is possible to instruct the appropriate processing portion to execute the appropriate processing. However, in the above system, it is necessary to separately prepare a central processing unit, which significantly reduces the degree of freedom in designing and using the system. Further, when the objects (data) that require a new processing method are added only by distributing the processing, it is always necessary to change the central processing apparatus determination method.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned prior art, and when a content is processed, regardless of whether or not the device performing the processing can process the metadata. The purpose is to enable updating of metadata according to processing.

[0017]

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes a first description for indicating edit contents, which influences the validity of metadata. Validity of the metadata based on a holding unit that holds the content to which the metadata is attached, an editing unit that edits the content, an editing content made by the editing unit with respect to the content, and the first description. Determination means for determining the sex.

Further, in the information processing method according to the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object, the metadata including the first description for indicating the editing content affecting the validity of the metadata is added to the content. A validity of metadata based on a holding step of holding the created content in a holding means, an editing step of editing the content, an editing content made to the content by the editing step, and the first description. And a determination step of determining.

[0019]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing apparatus for realizing the metadata use processing according to this embodiment.

In the illustrated configuration, the CPU is a microprocessor, performs arithmetic operations for various processes, makes logical judgments, etc., an address bus (AB), a control bus (C
B), controlling each component connected to those buses via the data bus (DB). The content of the work is instructed by a computer program on a ROM or a RAM described later. Further, a plurality of computer programs can be operated in parallel by the function of the CPU itself and the mechanism of the computer program.

The address bus (AB) transfers an address signal indicating a component to be controlled by the microprocessor (CPU). The control bus (CB) transfers and applies a control signal of each constituent element to be controlled by the microprocessor (CPU). The data bus (DB) transfers data between the respective constituent devices.

The ROM is a fixed read-only memory. The ROM contains a microprocessor (CP
A computer program area and a data area in which the control procedure by U) is stored are stored.

The RAM is a writable random access memory and is used as a computer program area and a data area in which a control procedure by a microprocessor (CPU) described later is stored, and the microprocessor (CPU). It is also used as a temporary storage area for various computer programs and various data from other components.

Various computer programs and data are stored in the storage medium such as ROM and RAM.
Various functions are realized by the computer of the system or apparatus reading and executing the program code stored in these recording media. The storage medium for storing the program code is not limited to ROM or RAM, and any storage medium may be used.

Further, when a recording medium storing the program and data according to the present invention is supplied to a system or an apparatus and the program is copied from the above-mentioned recording medium onto a rewritable recording medium such as RAM. There is also. In that case, a CD-ROM, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a memory card, a magneto-optical disk, or the like can be used as the storage medium.

There are various computer programs and data that are actually placed in the RAM, and among them are computer programs that implement the processing relating to the metadata of this embodiment. This is the present embodiment itself, which will be described later in detail.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, it is naturally possible to read the computer program of this embodiment from the medium in which this computer program is stored, and the storage medium in which this computer program is stored also serves as this embodiment. It is included. In FIG. 2, 2-a is the information processing device shown in FIG. 1, 2-b is a drive device for reading a storage medium, and 2-c is a medium storing the above-mentioned computer program.

Returning to FIG. 1, the DISK is a hard disk and functions as an external memory for storing various data and the like. The hard disk (DISK) has a built-in storage medium that can read and write a large amount of information at a relatively high speed, and various data and the like can be stored and retrieved as necessary. Further, the stored computer programs and data are completely or partly called on the RAM when necessary by the instructions of the keyboard and various computer programs.

MemCard is a memory card, which is a removable storage medium. By storing information in this memory card (MemCard) and connecting it to another device, it becomes possible to refer to and transfer the stored information.

The KB is a keyboard provided with various function keys such as an alphabet key, a hiragana key, a katakana key, a character / symbol input key such as a punctuation mark, and a cursor movement key for instructing cursor movement.

CR is a cursor register. The cursor register (C
The contents of R) are read and written. A CRT controller (CRTC) described later displays a cursor at a position on the display device (CRT) with respect to the address stored here.
DBUF is a display buffer memory that stores a pattern of data to be displayed.

The CRTC is a display controller, and includes a cursor register (CR) and a display buffer memory (DB).
It plays the role of displaying the contents stored in UF) on the display CRT.

The CRT is a display device using a cathode ray tube, liquid crystal or the like, and the display pattern of the dot configuration and the display of the cursor on the display device (CRT) are controlled by the CRT controller (CRTC). Further, CG is a character generator, which stores patterns of characters and symbols to be displayed on a display device (CRT).

The NCU is for the device or means of this embodiment to communicate with other devices or means.
By utilizing this, it becomes possible to share the program and data of the present embodiment with other devices or means. In the figure, a personal computer (PC), a receiving / storing / displaying device for TV broadcasts and videos taken by yourself (TV /
VR), a home-use game computer (GC), etc., are connected via a computer network (LAN), and the apparatus of the present embodiment can freely exchange information with them via the NCU. There is.

Needless to say, any device may be connected to the device of the present invention via a network. Further, the type of the network does not matter, and the network may be connected to an external network instead of the closed network as shown in the figure.

The DTU is a part that realizes a receiving function of broadcast communication using artificial satellites, etc., and transmits radio waves transmitted via the artificial satellites to a parabolic antenna (ANT).
It has a function of taking out the information which is the content which is received and broadcasted in. There are various forms of broadcast communication, such as those that are broadcast by terrestrial radio waves, those that are broadcast by coaxial cables and optical cables, and those that are distributed by the LAN and large-scale networks. It can be in any form, but any form of broadcast communication is acceptable.

Now, the information processing apparatus of the present embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration has a function of editing and processing multimedia contents such as moving images and still images, and operating the metadata thereof. A content utilization device is realized. It is assumed that the content and its metadata are usually stored in a storage device such as the hard disk (DISK) or memory card (MemCard) shown in FIG. 1 or an external storage device connectable via the NCU or DTU shown in FIG. The content may be anything such as a moving image or a still image, and the recording format of the content may be any format. The same applies to metadata, and any description format or recording format may be used as long as the information of this embodiment is held. In the following description, a form in which metadata described in XML format is added to video content will be described as an example.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a description example of the metadata for the video content according to the first embodiment in the XML format. The details will be described below.

3-a describes that the metadata continues after 3-a. When data is described in such an XML format, information other than the metadata may be described, so that the distinction is made. Is described for. Then, 3-y describes the end of the description of the metadata, and it is understood that 3-b to 3-x are the metadata.

As the contents of the metadata, first, the range of contents to which the metadata is added, that is, the addition range, is designated in 3-b. In 3-b, it is described that the range from 0:02:12 to 0:04:34 in the video content is the range to which the metadata is added. Then, from the line onward, the contents of the metadata given to the given range will be described. 3-
x indicates the end of the description of the metadata applied to the given range, and it can be seen that up to 3-w is the metadata corresponding to the given range. This metadata includes three metadata items 3-c to 3-i, 3-j to 3-o, and 3-p to 3-w.

Reference numerals 3-c to 3-i are portions in which the representative color of the moving image portion of the video content in the above-mentioned addition range is added as metadata. 3-c describes the start of the metadata and 3-i describes the end of the description. 3-h describes the representative color with RGB values. This representative color is used for searching in video content and is a kind of metadata.

3-d to 3-g are data for judging whether or not the metadata can be used, and are metadata-like data of the metadata. Hereinafter, this type of data will be referred to as meta metadata. 3-d indicates the start of the description of the meta-metadata, and 3-g indicates the end of the description. 3-e is the content of the meta metadata, and indicates that if the color change (ColorChange) operation is performed within the range of this metadata, the metadata of this representative color cannot be used (color change operation). Is the disable operation (DisableOpe
ration) is shown). Similarly, 3-f is
When cutting and pasting (VideoEdit) in video editing is performed within the range of this metadata, it indicates that the metadata of this representative color cannot be used.

3-j to 3-o are metadata relating to the speech within the given range. The described structure is similar to that of the representative color. In other words, 3-n, the speech is "Hello"
It is the metadata of the content. 3-l is meta-metadata, and indicates that this meta-data cannot be used when audio information is changed (AudioChange) within the above-mentioned assigned range of the video content.

3-p to 3-w are metadata relating to the object to be photographed in the above-mentioned given range. The structure of the description is the same as in the case of the above-mentioned representative color and dialogue. That is, 3-t to 3-v
Indicates that a person is photographed in the moving image in the target section as the metadata of the photographing target, and the name is “Ichiro Suzuki”. Further, 3-q to 3-s are meta-metadata, and in this case, no matter what operation is performed on the video content part of the given range,
This means that this metadata is valid (3-
r, No Disable Operation (Nothing)).

The above-described metadata description is made for each application range. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the metadata is added to the video content. Reference numeral 701 is a video content, and in FIG. 7, metadata is added to four addition ranges. Reference numeral 702 shows one data structure of the metadata, and the data structure according to FIG. 3 is shown. The metadata 702 includes addition range information 703 indicating the addition range of the metadata in the video content, and metadata items 704 to 706 (the number of metadata items is arbitrary) indicating metadata such as a representative color. Further, the metadata items 704-
Each of 706 includes meta-metadata 707 to 709 for determining the validity of the metadata.

As described above, in the metadata of this embodiment, the metadata is added to the content such as the moving image, and the determination information for determining the validity of each item of the metadata is added as the metadata. However, both of them can be used together in each device. As a result, each content will have a redundant part called its meta-metadata, but by using the information of that meta-metadata, each item of that meta-data will be edited or edited when the content is edited. Each device can determine whether or not is still available. In addition, even a device that does not know the item of the metadata can determine its validity. Moreover, since the determination process is performed in each device, the processing work can be distributed. That is, in the decentralized processing device, the processing for the metadata is determined from the metadata for the metadata (metametadata). Thus, unlike the technique described in Japanese Patent Application No. 08-077116, there is no central processing instruction portion, but processing can be decentralized, and metadata unknown to individual devices can be created. A characteristic configuration and action that can be performed also can be obtained.

FIG. 4 shows a screen on which the video data is actually edited and processed for the video content. This is an example of a screen when the window system is used, and the display controller CRTC in FIG.
And display device CR via character generator CG
It is what is displayed in T.

4-1 is called a title bar,
This is a part for operating the entire window, such as moving and changing the size. Reference numeral 4-2 is a portion called a toolbar, which allows the main functions in this window to be easily called.

Reference numeral 4-3 is a portion for selecting a moving image scene or still image to be edited / processed. FIG. 4 shows that a work is being performed on a scene in a moving image file “Yamada-kun's wedding.mpg” recorded by a digital video. Here, by operating the slider on the knob using an input device such as the KB shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to specify an arbitrary section in the moving image and select a scene.

In FIG. 4-3, the picture portion in the thick frame is the first shot (one frame) of the currently selected scene, and the same is true for scenes before and after that. Can be seen. As a result, the user can select a section in the video content that he / she wants to edit / process as one scene.
The present embodiment is mainly intended for editing, processing, and reproducing multimedia data. However, the present invention is not limited to devices and means for various usage methods including searching multimedia data. Can be used as a part function,
The function other than the part that is the feature of the present invention is unnecessary,
It is conceivable that more advanced functions may be provided by adding various functional parts, but any case is included in the present invention.

Reference numeral 4-4 is a portion for reproducing and viewing the scene selected in 4-3. By operating a knob or the like called a slider, an arbitrary shot or frame in this scene can be freely moved. You can see it. Also, if you have information such as the time this scene was shot,
You may make it display in this. By using this part, the user can grasp the contents of the scene selected by the user.

Reference numeral 4-5 is a portion for instructing editing, processing, effects, etc. for the section cut out at 4-3 and 4-4. Here, when an arbitrary edit / modification / effect is selected and the add button is pressed, the specified edit / modification / effect is performed and additionally registered in 4-62. At this time, the metadata processing using the metadata of the present embodiment is performed. The contents of this processing will be described later.

A function 4-6 is a function of aligning and outputting edited and processed video data as video data, and storing the video contents usable with this device in a state in which metadata and meta-metadata are added. Is the part that provides. 4-61 is a part for designating an output format. Four
-62 is a place where video data extracted by 4-3, 4-4, 4-5, and edited as necessary are arranged. By exchanging the order here, the order in the final video content can be designated and changed.

Reference numeral 4-7 is a portion for instructing to output the video data arranged in 4-6 as one video content.

In FIG. 5, a section of video data is designated,
It is the flowchart which showed the outline of the procedure of the process with respect to the metadata when the said area is edited and processed. The process of FIG. 5 is a case of being realized as a computer program as an example of realizing this process, and when these processes are executed, a part or the whole of this process, the same or In some cases, a plurality of devices may operate, and in other cases, they may simultaneously operate in parallel, both of which achieve the object of the present invention.

The processing contents and procedure shown in FIG. 5 will be described below. When a section of video data is designated and editing / processing is instructed, the process starts from step S5-1.

In step S5-2, the metadata to be processed in this process, the meta-metadata, and the information about the contents of the instructed editing process can be used.
Prepare in advance. Although various methods are conceivable here, for example, each information is stored in the storage medium of FIG.
Read from DISK or MemCard and make it easy to use.
A process of converting the format and placing it on the AM is performed.

In step S5-3, the metadata corresponding to the section including all or part of the section to be edited / processed is searched. For example, in FIG.
In the case where the portion 721 (extraction section) is extracted as an object to be edited / processed in B.
The metadata whose range is the portion D is extracted. In this case, the metadata whose range is A is not selected.

At step S5-4, step S5-3.
As a result of the search by, it is checked whether there is metadata that needs to be used in the metadata to be processed this time. As a result, when the target metadata does not exist, this processing is ended as it is. If the target metadata exists, the process moves to step S5-5.

In step S5-5, for each metadata item, the processing content described in the metadata and the actual editing / editing of the extracted segment.
By comparing the processing contents of the processing, it is determined whether or not the processed content of the extraction section is still a valid metadata item. Then, the metadata item that has become invalid due to the actual editing / processing process is deleted.

For example, when there is metadata and metadata as shown in FIG. 3, sepia processing for changing the extraction section into a rough tone like an old photograph and audio information are performed as editing / processing. It is assumed that the post-recording process is performed again. In this case, the sepia processing is "Color Change" processing for changing the color tone, and the post-recording processing is "Audio Change" processing for changing the audio content. Therefore, FIG.
When the continuity of the validity is determined for such metadata as shown in FIG.

In the sepia processing, in order to change the color tone,
It is necessary to recalculate the value of the representative color metadata, and the representative color metadata item (DominantColor) cannot be used as it is, but the information such as the voice, the reflected object, and the composition is not changed. Therefore, the representative color metadata item is invalidated by the sepia processing, but is not invalidated by the post-recording processing.

In addition, in the after-recording process, the moving image portion is not changed, but the dialogue may be changed or may disappear. The metadata item (Dialog) of the dialogue becomes unusable by the post-recording process, but other meta data is not available. The data can remain available. In this way, there are metadata that can be used and metadata that cannot be used, depending on the contents of the editing / processing process.

In view of this point, in the present embodiment, by making it possible to determine the validity of each metadata item by using the metadata attached to the metadata, a device that does not support this metadata is provided. However, it is possible to judge its effectiveness. Moreover, it is possible to perform this processing in a distributed manner.

In step S5-6, the metadata corresponding to the section in which the extraction section is partially or wholly included (metadata retrieved in step S5-3) is updated in step S5-5. Copy the created metadata to the work area of the memory. And step S5-
Make necessary edits in 7. For example, in FIG. 7, section B
Since a part of each of the metadata corresponding to and the section D is discarded, the metadata item for which video editing (DisableOperation VideoEdit) is specified as the invalidation operation is deleted. In the example of FIG. 3, if the metadata item of the representative color (DominantColor) remains at this point, this will be deleted. Further, in FIG. 7, the addition range of each of the metadata corresponding to the sections B, C, and D is changed according to the edited position.

Then, in step S5-8, the edited metadata is output together with the extracted content. Step S5-9 shows the end of this process.

When the output button 4-7 is finally clicked by repeating the above processing, the contents of the extraction sections arranged in the area 4-61 are combined in the arranged order to form one moving image file. Is output as. At this time, the metadata edited in step S5-7 is added to this new content.

With the above configuration, when various metadata are added to the multimedia content, incorrect metadata is added even if the multimedia content is edited or processed. It will not be in the state that was. In addition, since it becomes possible to easily and accurately perform the content operation using the metadata, the user can easily and effectively use the function of the multimedia content.

As described above, when various multimedia contents such as a moving image, a still image and a sound are edited and processed, the characteristics and the state of the metadata should be changed or used. Metadata that disappears may appear. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, regardless of whether or not the device that has edited or processed the content can process the metadata, the metadata can be continuously used by referring to the metadata. Determine if there is. Then, the metadata (item) determined to be unusable is deleted.

That is, according to the present embodiment, when an operation such as editing or processing is performed on multimedia contents, not only metadata known to the device but also unknown metadata is at least Determine whether the metadata can be used even after being edited / processed, and delete the unusable metadata item. Therefore, the metadata can be used accurately.

As described above, when various metadata are added to the multimedia content, even if the multimedia content is edited or processed, the metadata of each metadata is Effectiveness can be accurately judged. Therefore, since only valid metadata items are left, it is possible to easily and accurately use / operate, such as searching using metadata. Therefore, the user can easily and effectively use the multimedia content.

<Second Embodiment> In the above-described embodiment, in the metadata described in each metadata item, as shown in FIG. 3, the editing operation for invalidating the metadata item is "DisableOperation". It has been described. In the second embodiment, the invalid condition (editing operation)
Describe the reference destination to obtain. The device configuration of the second embodiment and the metadata update processing are the same as those in the first embodiment (FIGS. 1 and 5). Hereinafter, parts different from the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a description example of the metadata for the video content according to the second embodiment in the XML format. The details will be described below.

8-a describes that metadata continues after 8-a. When data is described in such an XML format, information other than metadata may be described, so that the distinction is made. Is described for. Then, 8-x describes the end of the description of the metadata, and it is understood that 8-b to 8-w are the metadata.

The contents of the metadata are 8-b to 8-d, 8-
f to 8-j, 8-l to 8-p, and 8-r to 8-w are 3-b to 3-d and 3-g in FIG.
The description is the same as ~ 3-k, 3-m ~ 3-q, and 3-s ~ 3-x, and their meanings are also the same. 8 and 3 differ in the description of the process in which the metadata becomes invalid, and instead of the description of 3-e, f, 3-l, and 3-r in FIG. 3, 8-e, 8-- It is written as k, 8-q. These parts will be described below.

8-e is the contents of the meta-metadata, and is necessary for obtaining the information for judgment as to what kind of operation is performed within the range to which the meta-data is added, and the meta-data cannot be used. Information is stored. In the present embodiment, the information is described by a URL that is access information when the information is obtained on the network. In addition, UR
The use of L is an example, and any information that can reliably obtain the determination information may be used. The same applies to 8-l and 8-s.

With the above description, the device can access the specified URL to obtain the information for determining whether each metadata item can be continuously used after the editing process for the content. Therefore, the processing in step S5-5 in FIG. 5 can be executed with reference to these URLs.

[0079]

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the section in the video content is extracted, but there is also metadata in which whether or not the metadata can be used is changed only by such an operation. If the representative color metadata or the dialogue metadata of the embodiment is designated as a section in which the video content is edited / processed even with only a part of the added section, these metadata cannot be used, but the metadata regarding the shooting target is not used. Data is available. Therefore, in step S5-7 described above, <Disabl
eOperation Video Edit> is checked to see if it is described, and the described metadata item is deleted.

Further, depending on the metadata, the usability may change depending on the cutting method such as cutting the front or the rear of the section corresponding to the metadata by this section extraction. Therefore,
If the description of the invalidation editing operation that represents such a cut state is recorded as metadata, the usability of the metadata can be determined more accurately. In the above embodiment, the metadata item invalidated in step S5-5 is deleted, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, the metadata determined to be invalid is re-created based on the edited video data. It may be calculated and rewritten as valid metadata, or added. For example, when the color is changed and it is determined that the metadata of the representative color is invalid, the representative color may be recalculated and the metadata may be updated.

As described above, in the case where various kinds of metadata are added to multimedia contents, even if the multimedia contents are edited / processed, inaccurate meta data is added. The data will not be attached. Therefore, a device that uses the metadata can easily and accurately perform a search and other uses and operations using the metadata, and the user can easily and effectively perform multi-operation. You can use the media content usage function.

Further, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium having a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and to supply a computer (or CPU) of the system or the apparatus.
It is needless to say that it can be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD
-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used.

Further, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by executing the program code read by the computer, but also the OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instructions of the program code. It is needless to say that this also includes a case where the above) performs a part or all of the actual processing and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted in the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that a case where the CPU or the like included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs some or all of the actual processing and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is also included.

[0087]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the content is processed, the metadata can be updated according to the processing regardless of whether or not the device performing the processing can process the metadata.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an overall configuration of a device according to a first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an implementation mode in which a computer program and the like are read from a medium that stores a computer program and the like that implements the device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing metadata used in the device of the first embodiment and an example of XML description of the metadata.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a screen when a video content is being edited / processed in the apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an outline of the content and procedure of processing for metadata when a section of video content is designated and edited / processed in the apparatus of the first embodiment. is there.

6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating an editing process and a determination result of validity of a metadata item according to the metadata description example illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state in which metadata is added to video content.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of description of metadata and meta-metadata in XML according to the second embodiment.

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Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A holding unit for holding a content, to which a metadata including a first description for indicating the editing content that affects the validity of the metadata is added to the content, and editing for editing the content. An information processing apparatus comprising: a means and a determination means for determining the validity of metadata based on the editing content made by the editing means with respect to the content and the first description. 2. The metadata includes one or a plurality of items, and has the first description for each item, and the determining unit, for each of the plurality of items,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein validity is determined. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first description represents edit content that invalidates a corresponding item. 4. The first description describes an access destination for obtaining the edit content for invalidating the corresponding item, and the determination means obtains the edit content from the access destination and obtains the edit content. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the validity of the metadata is determined based on the edited content and the edited content performed on the content by the editing unit. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a deleting unit that deletes the metadata item determined to be invalid by the determining unit. 6. The method according to claim 2, further comprising changing means for recalculating the metadata item for the metadata item determined to be invalid by the determining means, and changing the metadata item according to the result. The information processing device according to 1. 7. A holding step of holding, in a holding means, a content to which metadata including a first description for indicating the editing content that affects the validity of the metadata is held, An information processing method, comprising: an editing step of editing; and a determination step of determining the validity of metadata based on the editing content made to the content by the editing step and the first description. . 8. The metadata includes one or a plurality of items, and has the first description for each item, and the determining step includes, for each of the plurality of items,
The information processing method according to claim 7, wherein validity is determined. 9. The information processing method according to claim 8, wherein the first description represents edit content that invalidates a corresponding item. 10. The first description describes an access destination for obtaining the edit content for invalidating the corresponding item, and the determining step obtains the edit content from the access destination and obtains the edit content. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein the validity of the metadata is determined based on the edited content and the edited content performed on the content in the editing step. 11. The information processing method according to claim 8, further comprising a deletion step of deleting the metadata item determined to be invalid in the determination step. 12. The method further comprising: a changing step of recalculating the metadata item of the metadata item determined to be invalid in the determination step and changing the metadata item according to the result. 8
Information processing method described in. 13. A control program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 7. 14. A storage medium storing a control program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 7. 15. A content and metadata provided to the content, the metadata including a first description for indicating an editing content that affects the validity of the metadata to the content. data.