JP2004320092A - Digital contents summary reproducing method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital contents summary reproducing method with excellent convenience and high efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: All frames in a stream are rearranged in orders of high importance, and the resultant stream is used for a digest index. Only the optional number of frames is extracted from the head of the index and reproduced in a temporal order to display the summary with an optional length. In the case that a contents storage location is apart from a reproduction location, data are sequentially transmitted from the frame at the head of the index to realize quick summary viewing / listening of an important frame group. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technique for supplying digest information relating to content content separately from the content itself when viewing a large amount of content, and in particular, a video server device for distributing digital video content, and receiving the distribution. The present invention relates to a video playback terminal device and a video distribution system using the same.
[0002]
[Prior art]
With the development of digital video processing technology in recent years, a large amount of digital video content has begun to be distributed. In order to efficiently distribute these contents and to effectively use the limited time of the viewer, the technology for providing digest information of the contents has been remarkably developed.
[0003]
As the digest information of the content, for example, if the target content is a movie, various attributes related to the movie, for example, information related to the production year and the creator, etc., as well as a preview CM video used immediately before distribution of the movie, etc. are used. Sometimes. If the target content is something like a sports broadcast video, humans will watch the content before starting content distribution, tag it out with scenes that are considered important, etc., partially extract it, and digest the extracted video Sometimes used as information.
[0004]
As such a technique, for example, there is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-196385.
[0005]
However, the conventional techniques described above have the following problems.
[0006]
When selling content including video, it is expected that the presence or absence of digest information including video information will make a significant difference in advertising effectiveness. Such video digest information can be diverted to a preview CM video or the like if it is a content like a movie distributed in recent years, but generally, it must be generated based on the content itself. It is the current situation.
[0007]
When video digest information is generated based on a video content body, it is necessary to determine which part of the content is appropriate for the digest and extract a part of the video. This extraction work has conventionally been performed by a method in which a person views and tags the content. However, recent research has made it possible to perform automatic work by a computer, although the target content is limited. As such a study, for example, there is a study shown in Non-Patent Document 1.
[0008]
However, in any of the methods, since the digest video information is generated in advance, the length of the generated digest video information is uniquely determined at the time of generation. That is, for example, if a digest of the content for two hours is generated, and this is a one-minute video, a viewer who wants to view the digest video necessarily needs one minute of viewing time. Even if the viewer wants a shorter digest, he / she cannot view the digest video of one minute more shortened. Similarly, if you want a more detailed digest, you can't do that.
[0009]
For such a viewer, it is possible to prepare a plurality of digest videos, for example, a one-minute version, a 15-second version, or a three-minute version. However, regarding this point, the demands of the viewer tend to be fragmented, and there is a high possibility that a 30-second version or a 2-minute version must be prepared soon or later. In order to respond to such a demand, in the method of tagging by a human as described above, it is necessary to strike a tag having a plurality of weights at the time of tagging. It is expected to rise significantly.
[0010]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-196385
[Non-patent document 1]
Takemasa, et al., "Personalized summary video creation method using video importance", IEICE Transactions D-II Vol. J84-D-II No. 8, pp. 1848-1855, 2001
[Non-patent document 2]
Daniel DeMenthon, Vikrant Kobla, David Doermann, "Video Summarization by Curve Simplification", Proceedings of the next edition of the International Convention of the International Union of Communications, ACM international communication. 211-218, 1998
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a highly convenient and efficient digital content summarizing and reproducing system.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The above issues are
In a way to reduce playback time by summarizing digital content,
The summarizing method is a method of dividing the digital content on a time axis, evaluating the importance of each of the divided elements, and reproducing only the element having a high evaluation value,
The method of shortening the reproduction time is a method of sequentially selecting elements having higher evaluation values so that the specified reproduction time is obtained,
The playback time reduction rate is specified when playing digital content.
And is solved.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Description of First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a video server system, and 2 denotes a video playback terminal system. Also, 101 is a video encoding unit, 102 is a video stream holding unit, 103 is a digest generation unit, 104 is a digest index information transmission unit, and 105 is a video stream transmission unit. 201 is a digest index information requesting unit, 202 is a partial video stream requesting unit, 203 is a partial video stream temporary holding unit, 204 is a video stream temporary holding unit, 205 is a digest index selection and shaping unit, 206 is a video decoding unit, 207 Is a video display means.
[0014]
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0015]
When a content image is input to the video server system 1, the video encoding unit 101 encodes the content image by, for example, the MPEG method, and stores the encoding result in the video stream holding unit 102. Of course, an already encoded video stream may be directly input to the video stream holding unit 102, but is omitted in this specification for simplicity of description.
[0016]
The user operates the video playback terminal system 2 to select content, and transmits the selection result to the video server system. Here, the means used for selection and transmission may select, for example, a content title name from a list or a list showing a part of an image. For such a selecting means, etc., a conventionally used technique may be used, and therefore description thereof is omitted in this specification.
[0017]
When the information of the selected content is transmitted to the video server system, the video server system extracts a required video stream, and generates a digest index corresponding to the video stream by the digest generation unit 103.
[0018]
Here, the digest index is obtained by assigning an integer number to all frames of the corresponding video stream, rearranging the frames in the order considered to be important, and listing the frame numbers of the rearranged results. FIG. 2 shows an example of the digest index. In this example, the 1034th frame is considered to be the most important frame in the entire contents, and the 26th, 544th, 39th, and 1667th frames are determined to be important in the following order. Assuming that the corresponding video stream has a length of 100,000 frames, in order to view it at, for example, 1000 times speed, obtain the first 100 frame numbers of the digest index and sort them in ascending order. By sequentially displaying the corresponding frames, digest viewing at a desired speed becomes possible.
[0019]
Although the arithmetic method itself for generating the digest index is not particularly described in the present invention, it is assumed that, for example, a method as described in Non-Patent Document 2 is used. Of course, the arithmetic method for generating the digest index is not limited to the method described in the above document, and an arbitrary method may be used.
[0020]
Now, in this embodiment, the digest index information generated by the video server system is transmitted to the video reproduction terminal system by the digest index sending means 104. When the video playback terminal system obtains the digest index information, the digest index selection and shaping means 205 extracts the required number of heads of the digest index based on the playback speed separately specified by the user. This is sorted in ascending order, and the sorting result is transmitted to the video server system. Note that this sort processing itself does not need to be performed on the video reproduction terminal system side, and may be performed on the video server system side depending on the configuration. Also, the process of extracting the required number of the leading portions of the digest index itself does not need to be performed on the video playback terminal system side, and the necessary playback speed information is transmitted from the video playback terminal system to the video server system, The digest index may be cut out on the system side.
[0021]
Next, when the video server system obtains a digest index to be reproduced, the stream transmitting means 105 transmits a corresponding video stream based on the index information, and the video reproduction terminal system receives this and performs digest reproduction.
[0022]
At an appropriate timing before, during or after the digest playback, the video server system sends out the main stream, and the video playback terminal system receives this and temporarily saves it in the main stream holding means 204 to allow the user to view the content. Perform a process for causing
[0023]
If the viewing of the main content is charged, it is assumed that the video playback terminal system charges for the main content of the video stream. If only digest playback is free, it is necessary to set a lower limit on the playback speed and to limit the digest index generation target to a part such as the head of the video stream.
[Explanation of the second embodiment]
Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0024]
FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, 1 is a video server system, and 2 is a video playback terminal system. Also, 101 is a video encoding unit, 102 is a video stream holding unit, 103 is a digest generation unit, 104 is a digest index information sending unit, 105 is a video stream sending unit, 106 is a partial stream reading unit, 107 is a video decoding unit, 108 Is a video encoding means, and 109 is a partial stream sending means. 201 is a digest index information requesting unit, 202 is a partial video stream requesting unit, 203 is a partial video stream temporary holding unit, 204 is a video stream temporary holding unit, 205 is a digest index selection and shaping unit, 206 is a video decoding unit, 207 Is a video display means.
[0025]
Note that the video encoding means 108 and the video decoding means 206 may respectively hold encoding means and decoding means using a plurality of methods.
[0026]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0027]
When a content image is input to the video server system 1, the video encoding unit 101 encodes the content image by, for example, the MPEG method, and stores the encoding result in the video stream holding unit 102.
[0028]
The user operates the video playback terminal system 2 to select content, and transmits the selection result to the video server system.
[0029]
When the information of the selected content is transmitted to the video server system, the video server system extracts a required video stream, and generates a digest index corresponding to the video stream by the digest generation unit 103.
[0030]
The digest index information generated by the video server system is transmitted to the video reproduction terminal system by the digest index sending means 104. The digest index information received by the video playback terminal system is sent to the digest index selection and shaping means 207, where the required number of digest index heads are extracted based on the playback speed separately specified by the user. This is sorted in ascending order and transmitted to the video server system as a partial stream request.
[0031]
When the video server system receives the partial stream request including the digest index information, the partial stream reading unit 106 partially reads the video stream based on the index information. Based on this, a partial stream is generated via a video decoding unit 107 and a video encoding unit 108. The generation result is received by the partial stream sending means 109 and sent to the video playback terminal system.
[0032]
Here, the partial stream transmitted by the video server system may be a part of the MPEG format data originally possessed by the video stream holding means, or may be re-encoded in the JPEG format or the MPEG format by an encoder. Does not depend on For example, if the video playback speed requested by the user is sufficiently high, the correlation between frames to be played back is expected to be low, so re-encoding in the JPEG format achieves the highest processing efficiency. Can be expected. Under such conditions, a JPEG encoder may be selected and Motion JPEG format data may be transmitted as a partial stream.
[0033]
The video playback terminal system receives the partial stream sent from the video server system, temporarily stores the partial stream in the partial stream temporary holding unit 203, and performs digest playback. Since streams in a plurality of formats are sent as partial streams, the decoding means 206 in the video playback terminal system has decoding means corresponding to the plurality of formats, and is controlled to switch and operate as necessary.
[0034]
At an appropriate timing before, during or after the digest playback, the video server system sends out the main stream, and the video playback terminal system receives this and temporarily saves it in the main stream holding means 204 to allow the user to view the content. Perform a process for causing
[0035]
Here, the video encoding unit and the video decoding unit corresponding to a plurality of formats may be realized by separately mounting a plurality of video encoders and video decoders, or a plurality of software units may be installed in a single arithmetic unit. May be used to support multiple formats.
[0036]
Also, the video playback terminal system transmits a list of video decoding means supported by itself to the video server system, and the video server system selects an encoding format that can be processed most efficiently from the list. It is good. It is considered efficient to transmit the list of supportable video decoding means at the time of requesting a partial stream from the video server system.
[Description of Third Embodiment]
Next, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0037]
FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, 1 is a video server system, and 2 is a video playback terminal system. Also, 101 is a video encoding unit, 102 is a video stream holding unit, 103 is a digest generation unit, 104 is a digest index information sending unit, and 105 is a video stream sending unit. 201 is a digest index information requesting unit, 202 is a partial video stream requesting unit, 203 is a partial video stream temporary holding unit, 204 is a video stream temporary holding unit, 205 is a digest index selection and shaping unit, 206 is a video decoding unit, 207 Is a video display means. Reference numeral 401 denotes a transmission path performance detection unit.
[0038]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The operation of this embodiment is the same as the operation of the above-described first embodiment except for one point. The operation different from that of the first embodiment is as follows. In the first embodiment, the input of the playback speed to the video playback terminal system is performed externally by the user. In this embodiment, the playback speed in the video playback terminal system is automatically determined by the transmission path performance detection means 401 provided in both the video server system and the video playback terminal system.
[0039]
For example, if the video server system and the video playback terminal system are connected by a high-speed transmission line, relatively large amounts of data can be transmitted in a short time, so playback at a low speed is possible. However, if the transmission path between the two is low, it is necessary to reduce the amount of data to be transmitted and increase the apparent reproduction speed.
[0040]
Of course, even with such a configuration, a system may be used in which the machine does not determine all the playback speeds, but rather limits are set and a desired playback speed is set by a person within the range. For example, when the transmission path speed is not sufficient, a limit that the normally selectable 100 × speed does not appear in the menu but becomes at least 500 × speed can be assumed.
[Explanation of the fourth embodiment]
Next, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0041]
FIG. 5 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 11 denotes an image monitoring server system, 12 denotes a monitoring center control terminal system, and 13 denotes a monitoring image reproduction terminal system. Also, 101 is a video encoding unit, 102 is a video stream holding unit, 103 is a digest generation unit, 104 is a digest index information transmission unit, 105 is a video stream transmission unit, and 110 is an alarm control unit. 201 is a digest index information acquisition unit, 202 is a partial video stream requesting unit, 203 is a partial video stream temporary holding unit, 204 is a video stream temporary holding unit, 205 is a digest index selection and shaping unit, 206 is a video decoding unit, 207 Is a video display means. Reference numeral 301 denotes a partial video stream temporary holding unit, 302 denotes a video decoding unit, and 303 denotes a video display unit.
[0042]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0043]
Here, it is assumed that the image monitoring server system 11 is installed in the vicinity of a monitoring target site that is going to monitor by video, and the monitoring center control terminal system 12 is a central monitoring center that controls the monitoring system. The surveillance image reproducing terminal 13 is assumed to be installed in a mobile body or various public institutions (police, fire department, etc.).
[0044]
It is assumed that the image monitoring server system 11 is connected to a camera that projects a monitoring target. The image input from the surveillance camera is encoded by the encoding unit 101 and stored in the video stream holding unit 102. The input image from the camera is also supplied to the digest generation unit 103, and generates a digest index in real time or at fixed time intervals.
[0045]
Next, when any abnormality related to the monitoring target is detected by an operation switch, a sensor, or the like, an alarm input is input to the alarm control unit 110. With this input as a trigger, the digest index transmitting means 104 transmits the digest index information obtained at that time to the monitoring center control terminal system. At this time, it is also conceivable to simultaneously transmit information indicating where the image monitoring server system is installed and information indicating what kind of trigger has caused an alarm.
[0046]
When the monitoring center control terminal system receives this warning, it selects a digest index and sorts it based on preset playback speed information, and sends a partial stream request to the image monitoring server system. At this time, if necessary, the playback speed may be changed by an operator or the like.
[0047]
When the image monitoring server system 11 receives the partial stream request, it extracts a part of the video stream stored in the video stream holding means 102 based on the digest index information included in the request and sends it as a partial stream.
[0048]
Upon receiving the partial stream, the monitoring center control terminal system 12 temporarily stores the partial stream in the partial stream temporary holding unit 203, and performs a stream display process. The operator may watch this, adjust the playback speed if necessary, and send a partial stream request again.
[0049]
The partial stream sent from the image monitoring server system 11 is sent not only to the monitoring center control terminal system 12 but also to the monitoring image reproduction terminal 13. This terminal has a relatively simple configuration, and has only a function of reproducing a partial stream. The partial stream received from the image monitoring server system is temporarily stored in the partial video stream holding unit 301, and is repeatedly reproduced and displayed until the next new partial stream is received.
[0050]
By transmitting only the important frames in the monitoring image first by such an operation, even if the transmission path to the moving object is slow, a high-resolution image that will help solve the problem is transmitted to each terminal. Can be sent to For example, if the sensor detects a high temperature due to a fire and issues an alarm, it may help to extinguish the fire, such as where the fire started and what began to burn, no human remains, or if there is no dangerous material around. Possible important information can be quickly sent to relevant parties.
[0051]
In this embodiment, the digest index is once sent to the monitoring center control terminal, and the transmission of the partial stream is started by sending the digest index again. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Before performing communication with the terminal system, the image monitoring server system may autonomously generate a partial stream based on reproduction speed information specified in advance, and automatically transmit the partial stream.
[0052]
Further, it is not always necessary to transmit the partial stream to all the monitoring image reproduction terminals, and some restriction conditions may be transmitted in the monitoring center control terminal system. For example, a restriction may be imposed that a partial stream is sent only to a monitoring image reproducing terminal located near a monitoring target site.
[Explanation of another method of the embodiment]
Next, the embodiments described above can have the following features. This feature will be described with reference to FIG.
[0053]
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the above embodiment in which a stream is transmitted from the video server system 1 and received by the video playback terminal system 2 to reproduce and display the stream once stored in the stream temporary holding means. It is partially extracted.
[0054]
6, reference numeral 102 denotes a video stream holding unit, 105 denotes a stream sending unit, 204 denotes a video stream temporary holding unit, 206 denotes a video decoding unit, and 207 denotes a video display unit.
[0055]
First, in step 1001, a partial stream is transmitted. The stream sending means 105 sends out a part of a separately specified video stream. The video playback terminal system 2 receiving this stores the video stream temporarily in the single video stream temporary holding means at the position that the partial stream should occupy. As a result, as schematically shown in FIG. 6, the partial stream is stored so as to occupy the video stream temporary holding unit 204 in a stripe shape.
[0056]
Next, in step 1002, the reproduction and display of the partial stream and the transmission of the entire main stream are performed in parallel. The video decoding means 206 reads out the partial stream stored in a stripe shape, decodes the partial stream, and performs display processing. On the other hand, the stream transmission means 105 sequentially transmits only the portion of the stream stored in the video stream 102 that has not been transmitted as a partial stream earlier. Upon receiving this, the video playback terminal system 2 stores the received stream in the remaining part where the partial stream was not stored earlier. By this processing, finally, the video stream temporary holding unit 204 is in the same state that the entire video stream is sequentially stored from the beginning.
[0057]
Next, in step 1003, reproduction and display of the entire stream is performed. When the previous step is completed, the entire stream is stored in the video stream temporary holding means 204 in the correct order, so that the entire stream can be reproduced by decoding it in order from the beginning. it can.
[0058]
By performing the above processing, a video playback terminal system can be constructed by a single stream holding unit without preparing a dedicated stream holding unit for a partial stream. Thereby, the configuration can be simplified.
[Description of Fifth Embodiment]
Next, in each of the above-described embodiments, the transmission is performed in two stages of the partial stream and the main stream. However, there is a method in which the transmission is performed in order from the frame determined to be important by the digest index. .
[0059]
Another example will be described as an example of this method.
[0060]
FIG. 7 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, 1 is a video server system, and 2 is a video playback terminal system. Reference numeral 101 denotes a video encoding unit, 102 denotes a video stream holding unit, 103 denotes a digest generation unit, 105 denotes a video stream sending unit, 111 denotes a video stream structure information holding unit, 112 denotes a partial stream selection unit, and 113 denotes a system control unit. is there. Reference numeral 204 denotes a video stream temporary holding unit, 205 denotes a digest index selection and shaping unit, 206 denotes a video decoding unit, 207 denotes a video display unit, 208 denotes a stream requesting unit, and 209 denotes a digest index temporary holding unit.
[0061]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0062]
When an image is input to the video server system 1, the image is encoded by the video encoding unit 101 such as MPEG and stored in the video stream holding unit 102. At this time, the video encoding unit 101 outputs the stream structure information used at the time of encoding, and the stream structure information holding unit 111 stores this. Here, the stream structure information is information as to whether or not frame data is encoded using inter-frame correlation, and to which frame the encoding is to be performed using correlation, assuming encoding by MPEG, for example.
[0063]
Next, when the user requests viewing of the content, the stream request means 208 of the video playback terminal system 2 requests a stream to the video server system. The control means 113 receives this, extracts the corresponding video stream from the video stream holding means 112, and based on this, the digest generation means 103 generates a digest index. The digest index information is sent to the video playback terminal system 2 and stored in the digest index temporary holding unit 209. The control unit 113 also extracts the structure information of the corresponding stream from the stream structure information holding unit 111 and sends it to the partial stream selection unit 112 together with the digest index generated earlier. The partial stream selecting unit 112 obtains a partial stream necessary for decoding the frame specified at the head of the digest index from the received information, and the stream transmitting unit 105 determines whether the partial stream is necessary based on this information. Only the partial stream that has been sent is sent to the video playback terminal system 2. For example, if the specified frame is encoded by using inter-frame correlation, decoding may require a plurality of frame data of a reference destination in some cases. Become.
[0064]
After finishing the processing of the frame specified at the head of the digest index, the partial stream selection unit 112 sequentially proceeds with the processing of the second specified frame, the third frame, and so on. Send the stream corresponding to the frame. In the case of an encoding method using inter-frame correlation such as MPEG, a frame that has already been transmitted as a reference destination frame is to be transmitted again as the n-th designated frame. It may not be actually sent as already completed.
[0065]
Next, the video playback terminal system 2 receives the digest index information and the video stream from the video server system 1 and temporarily stores the digest index information and the video stream therein. Among them, the video stream is received in order from the frame appearing at the head of the digest index. Based on the playback speed designated by the user, the digest index is partially selected and sorted from the beginning, and based on this, the video stream is sequentially decoded and the user is made to view.
[0066]
Here, since the video stream is sent in order from the important frames, immediately after the start of the video stream reception, the most important frames are slightly held in the video playback terminal system. In this state, for example, even if an attempt is made to perform the digest reproduction for 20%, the reproduction cannot be performed because the corresponding video stream is not at hand. Therefore, while the video stream is being transmitted, a limit is imposed on the reproduction speed that can be specified by the user. For example, assuming that the video stream temporary holding unit 204 contains a video stream corresponding to a digest of 3%, the reproduction speed input is limited so that a value larger than 3% cannot be set. Of course, a value larger than 3% can be selected by sequentially increasing the amount of the video stream stored in the video stream temporary holding means 204.
[0067]
It is needless to say that the video stream temporary holding means 204 used in the present embodiment suitably employs a stripe-shaped data storage method schematically shown in FIG.
[0068]
In each of the embodiments described above, only video data is described as data included in a stream. However, audio data accompanying video or other data can be processed in the same manner.
[0069]
In addition, the video playback terminal system has been described to receive both the partial stream and the main stream, but this is not essential. For example, according to a user instruction, the main stream is not received and only the partial stream is received. Such an operation may be performed.
[0070]
In some cases, the generation of the digest index information is processed using a request from the video playback terminal as a trigger, but when the video stream is captured in the video server system, it may be generated and stored. good. In addition, it is not always necessary to generate digest index information in the video server system, and this may be separately supplied from outside.
[0071]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention as described above,
When viewing the digest of the content, the terminal can determine in advance how long the digest should be viewed,
By downloading only a part of the content from the server when viewing the digest, it is possible to reduce the time required to start viewing.
Also, when only the digest is reproduced, the total amount of data received from the server can be reduced,
As described above, there is an effect that a highly convenient and efficient system can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an example of a digest index according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 shows another method of the stream temporary holding method according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Video server system, 2 ... Video reproduction terminal system, 11 ... Image monitoring server system, 12 ... Monitoring center control terminal system, 13 ... Surveillance image reproduction terminal system, 101 ... Video encoding means, 102 ... Video stream holding means, 103 ... digest generating means, 104 ... digest index information sending means, 105 ... video stream sending means, 106 ... partial stream reading means, 107 ... video decoding means, 108 ... video encoding means, 109 ... partial stream sending means, 110 ... alarm control Means: 111: video stream structure information holding means, 112: partial stream selecting means, 113: system control means, 201: digest index information requesting means, 202: partial video stream requesting means, 203: unit Video stream temporary holding means, 204: Video stream temporary holding means, 205: Digest index selection and shaping means, 206: Video decoding means, 207: Video display means, 208: Stream request means, 209: Digest index temporary holding means, 301 ... Partial video stream temporary holding means, 302: video decoding means, 303: display means, 401: transmission path performance detection means.

Claims (14)

In a way to reduce playback time by summarizing digital content,
The summarizing method is a method of dividing the digital content on a time axis, evaluating the importance of each of the divided elements, and reproducing only the element having a high evaluation value,
The method of shortening the reproduction time is a method of sequentially selecting elements having higher evaluation values so that the specified reproduction time is obtained,
The playback time reduction rate is specified at the time of digital content playback,
Digital content summary playback method. The digital content is digital video content,
The method of dividing the digital content on a time axis is a method of dividing the digital video content on a frame basis,
The method of claim 1 for summarizing and reproducing digital contents. With the features of claims 1 and 2,
Input means for acquiring digital content, summarizing means for summarizing digital content, playback speed designating means for designating a reduction rate of playback time, and output means for outputting digital content, comprising: Characterized in that the digital content is summarized and output at a specified shortening rate,
Digital content summarization system. With the features of claims 1 and 2,
Storage means for holding the digital content, summarizing means for summarizing the digital content, playback speed designating means for designating a reduction rate of the playback time, and output means for outputting the digital content; Digital content being summarized and output at a specified shortening rate,
Digital content summarization system. With the features of claims 1 and 2,
Storage means for holding the digital content, summarizing means for summarizing the digital content, evaluation value output means for outputting a list of evaluation values used for the summarization, and elements having the highest evaluation in the evaluation value list in order. A content summarization device comprising: a content element output unit that outputs the content element;
Playback speed designating means for designating a reduction rate of playback time, playback output means for playing back and outputting digital content, evaluation value input means for obtaining the evaluation value list, and content element input means for obtaining the content element And a content reproduction device comprising: a content element temporary storage unit for temporarily holding the content element;
And a communication path connecting the two devices,
Digital content summary playback system. With the features of claims 1 and 2,
Storage means for holding digital content, summarizing means for summarizing digital content, evaluation value output means for outputting a list of evaluation values used for the summarization, and selectively outputting content elements requested to be output A content summarization device comprising:
Playback speed designating means for designating a shortening rate of playback time; evaluation value input means for acquiring the evaluation value list; content element output requesting means for sequentially requesting an output with the highest evaluation in the evaluation value list; A content element input unit for acquiring an element, a content element temporary storage unit for temporarily holding the content element, and a content reproduction apparatus including a reproduction output unit for reproducing and outputting the digital content;
And a communication path connecting the two devices,
Digital content summary playback system. The digital content summary playback system according to claim 6, wherein
The content element temporary storage means includes: a summary partial content element temporary storage means for temporarily holding a content element selected for a playback time designated by a playback speed designation means; and a content element other than the selected content element. And non-summary partial content element temporary storage means for temporarily holding
Digital content summary playback system. The digital content summary playback system according to claim 7, wherein
The content summarizing apparatus includes transcodec means for changing a data format of a content element,
The content reproducing apparatus includes a multi-decoding unit for reproducing a content element whose data format has been changed by the transcodec unit,
The content element stored in the summary partial content element temporary storage unit and the content element stored in the non-summary partial content element temporary storage unit have different data formats.
Digital content summary playback system. The digital content summarizing and reproducing system according to claim 5, 6, 7, or 8,
The playback speed designation means is a playback speed input means for designating a shortening rate from outside the system,
Digital content summary playback system. The digital content summarizing and reproducing system according to claim 5, 6, 7, or 8,
The playback speed designation unit is a playback speed determination unit that obtains a shortening rate based on attribute information on a communication path that connects the content summarization device and the content playback device.
Digital content summary playback system. The digital content summary playback system according to claim 10, wherein
The attribute information on the communication path is information on a transmission speed of the communication path,
Digital content summary playback system. The digital content summarizing and reproducing system according to claim 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12,
The communication between the content summarizing device and the content reproducing device is started by a communication start unit provided in the content summarizing device,
Digital content summary playback system. The digital content summary playback system according to claim 12, wherein
The communication start unit is an input device connected to the content summarization device,
Digital content summary playback system. The digital content summary playback system according to claim 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, or 13,
The system comprises one or a plurality of the content summarizing devices, a plurality of the content reproducing devices, and a communication path interconnecting them,
The plurality of content playback devices include one or more partial content playback devices that receive and play only the summarized partial content, and one or more total content playback devices that receive and play the entire content. Characterized by being composed,
Digital content summary playback system.

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