JP2005210196A - Information processing apparatus, and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attach additional information matching the contents of video/audio data with higher versatility than that of prior arts. <P>SOLUTION: A translation server receives the streaming video/audio data transmitted from a base station apparatus 1 via the Internet, and generates translation metadata as additional information to the received video/audio data. The translation metadata are obtained through voice recognition of voice signal data of the received video/audio data and match the contents of the data. Then the translation metadata produced as above are attached to the originally received video/audio data and transmitted to a monitor apparatus as streaming data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method for performing information processing on received / acquired video / audio data connected to a communication network, for example.

  The present applicant has previously proposed an information transmission / reception system configured to connect a base station apparatus and a monitor apparatus by wireless communication, for example, as AV (Audio Video) equipment.

  The base station apparatus of this information transmission / reception system includes a television broadcast tuner, for example, so that it can receive and select a television broadcast signal and demodulate it into a video / audio signal. For example, an external video / audio source input function is provided by providing a video / audio signal input terminal. Then, for example, the video / audio information obtained in this way can be converted into a compressed / encoded video / audio data format and transmitted and output wirelessly.

  The monitor device is assumed to have a small size that can be carried around indoors, for example. Then, the video / audio data wirelessly transmitted from the base station apparatus is decoded to perform image display and audio output.

With such an information transmission / reception system, the user can carry the monitor device indoors, for example, and install it at an arbitrary location. That is, as long as it is within a communicable range, it is possible to view television broadcasts and content information such as video / audio information input to the base station apparatus at any place.
Here, for example, operations for controlling various base station devices such as selection of television broadcasts and selection of video / audio sources can be performed on the monitor device side. Information is transmitted to the base station apparatus. In the base station apparatus, for example, the tuner is controlled so that the channel selection channel is switched or the input of the video / audio source is switched according to the received operation information.

  Such an information transmission / reception system can be viewed as a configuration in which, for example, a device (base station device) that inputs and acquires a video / audio source and a monitor device that outputs this video / audio are separated. . Originally, as described above, by transmitting video / audio wirelessly, for example, in a relatively narrow communicable range such as in a house, a place where a user can view and appreciate content information. It gives a degree of freedom.

  In addition, in such an information transmission / reception system, it is assumed that both the base station apparatus and the monitor apparatus have a network connection function such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). As a result, the content information such as video / audio described above can be transmitted and received between the base station apparatus and the monitor apparatus via the Internet.

In the case of communication via the Internet, as long as the environment is connectable to the Internet, the communication range is not limited. Therefore, use of the following information transmission / reception system can be considered.
That is, first, for example, the base station device is installed in a region remote from the region where the user uses the monitor device. As an example, the base station apparatus is installed in a service area that is completely different from the television broadcast service area including the area where the monitor device is used. In addition, the base station apparatus and the monitor apparatus are configured to be able to transmit / receive commands as well as transmit / receive video / audio data.
In this way, the user controls the base station device via the Internet, transmits the video / audio data of the television broadcast received and demodulated by the base station device to the monitor device, and the monitor device transmits the image / audio. Can be output. In other words, for example, a television broadcast that cannot be received in an area where the user is actually using the monitor device can be viewed while being in the area.

FIG. 8 shows a flow of video / audio data when communication is performed between the base station apparatus and the monitor apparatus via the Internet as described above.
As described above, communication via the Internet is not limited in the physical distance between communication terminals. Therefore, as long as the environment is connectable to the Internet, these communication terminals are located in different countries. Is also good. And when video / audio data is transmitted and received between the base station device and the monitor device, the base station device and the monitor device are installed in different countries, assuming that communication via the Internet is used. It is also possible. Therefore, in FIG. 8, it is assumed that the base station apparatus and the monitor apparatus are installed in different countries.

As shown in FIG. 8, base station apparatus 1 is connected to Internet 100 in A country. Further, the monitor device 2 is connected to the Internet 100 in the country B.
Then, as described above, for example, video / audio data obtained by receiving a television broadcast or video / audio data input from an external AV device is transmitted from the base station apparatus 1 as streaming data over the Internet 100. Via, the monitor device 2 is transmitted as a transmission destination.
The video / audio data transmitted in this way is received by the monitor device 2 via the Internet. In the monitor device 2, the received video / audio data is synchronized with, for example, the playback time axis. The video data is displayed and output as an image, and the audio data is output as sound from, for example, a speaker.

Here, in the case where the base station device 1 and the monitor device 2 are actually used in different countries, such as country A and country B, as described above, for example, as a specification of the base station device 1, a built-in television If the John broadcast tuner is compatible with the broadcast of country A, the base station apparatus 1 can transmit the video / audio data obtained by receiving the television broadcast of country A to the monitor apparatus 2. .
Moreover, since it is considered that AV equipment connected to the base station apparatus 1 installed in the country A is normally used in the country A, for example, such an AV equipment side supports video. / Various audio software that is premised on viewing in country A can be obtained. Also, video / audio data using such video / audio software as a source can be transmitted from the base station apparatus 1 side to the monitor apparatus 2.
That is, the user who uses the monitor device 2 can view the television broadcast of country A, the video / audio software of country A, etc. while staying in country B.

JP 2001-101190 A

  By the way, when actually using the system as described above, for example, considering the convenience and entertainment that can be enjoyed by the user, the video / audio data is not simply transmitted / received as described above. It is preferable that some additional value is given. In this regard, referring again to the system of FIG. 8, a specific example will be given.

Here, in FIG. 8, it is assumed that the language A and the language B are different in country A in which the base station device 1 is used and in country B in which the monitor device 2 is used.
In this case, as the most easy-to-understand example, since the television broadcast received at the base station apparatus 1 is assumed to be viewed by the people of country A, most of the programs are produced using language A. Will be. That is, in terms of language, the content can be understood by those who can use the language A.
Depending on the communication shown in FIG. 8, such video / audio data of the content content is transmitted from the base station device 1 in A to the monitor device 2 in B. In general, it is assumed that the user who uses the monitor device 2 in the country B uses the language B as a working language, for example, is a citizen of the country B. For this reason, for example, if the user who uses the monitor device 2 normally uses the language B and cannot use or understand the language B, the content of the country A being viewed on the monitor device 2 The situation is such that the contents cannot be fully understood.
In other words, the user who uses the monitor device 2 can certainly enjoy the benefit of being able to easily view content in other countries, but understands the content of the content sufficiently when the language used cannot be understood. Inconvenience that it is impossible to appreciate while enjoying.

As one countermeasure for solving such inconvenience, for example, on the television broadcast management side, translation information is added to the video / audio signal and transmitted, and this is received and demodulated. As an apparatus configuration, it is conceivable that the translation information is extracted and demodulated and reproduced and output together with video / audio information in a predetermined output mode.
However, in this case, on the transmission side of the television broadcast, it is necessary to add facilities and environment for creating the translation data as described above and adding it to the video / audio information for transmission. It will be a considerable cost burden for the management side of John Broadcasting. Further, even if a service for providing translation data to video / audio information is actually provided with such facilities and environments, in this case, for example, the operation of adding translation data to video / audio information has already been performed. It can only be done as editing for some content as a video / audio source. Therefore, as a practical matter, it is impossible to perform such work for all broadcast programs. For example, a service in a small range such as limiting to only some popular programs. It must be. In particular, for so-called live programs, such as sports broadcasts and news programs, a service that adds translation data because real-time processing is not possible in the case of the facility environment described above. Will be excluded.
In this respect, the same can be said for video / audio data using video / audio software as a source. For example, video / audio software such as a DVD records data such as subtitles, and the subtitles can be synthesized and displayed together with the original image / audio, and language-dubbed audio is also prepared. Or However, in this case, only subtitles in a specific language and voice-over audio recorded in advance on package media as software can be output.
In other words, in a system for transmitting / receiving video / audio data via a network such as the Internet, for example, additional information such as translation data can be given to the video / audio data to improve the user's profit. At present, video / audio sources that can do this are limited.

In view of the above problems, the present invention is configured as an information processing apparatus as follows.
In other words, it is obtained by receiving streaming transmission via a predetermined communication network, and inputs video / audio data including at least video data and / or audio data, and recognizes from the input video / audio data Additional information generating means for generating additional information having predetermined information content based on the predetermined content content, and adding the additional information to the input video / audio data and specifying it via a predetermined communication network And video / audio data generating means for generating video / audio data for transmission to be transmitted to the terminal device.

  Also, it is obtained by receiving streaming transmission via a predetermined communication network. At least video / audio data including video data and / or audio data is input and recognized from the input video / audio data. Additional information generation processing for generating additional information having the predetermined information content based on the predetermined content content, and adding the additional information to the input video / audio data and specifying it via a predetermined communication network The information processing method is configured to execute the video / audio data generation processing for generating video / audio data for transmission to be transmitted to the terminal device.

Depending on each configuration described above, video / audio data streamed and transmitted via a predetermined communication network is input, and additional information about the input video / audio data is generated. This additional information has predetermined information content based on the content content recognized from the gravitational video / audio data. Therefore, the content of the additional information is determined in accordance with the content content of the video / audio data input as streaming data.
Then, the additional information generated as described above is added to the original input video / audio data to generate transmission video / audio data, which is transmitted as streaming data. Here, input video / audio data has been transmitted as streaming data, and transmission video / audio data to which additional information is added is also transmitted as streaming data. In transmitting and outputting data, the temporal continuity of the original input video / audio data is maintained.
In other words, according to the present invention, for example, video / audio data input as streaming data is not temporarily stored, for example, by real-time processing. This means that additional information is generated, added, and transmitted.

For example, as a conventional way of thinking, when additional information is to be added to video / audio data, the additional information is previously added to a source as existing video / audio data. For this reason, as a real problem, it has been difficult to create many video / audio data sources that can be provided with additional information.
On the other hand, in the present invention, with respect to video / audio data transmitted as streaming data, additional information having contents adapted to the contents of the contents is created, added, and retransmitted. Yes. Therefore, if it is video / audio data input as a processing target, it is possible to send it by adding additional information regardless of the content content. In other words, all the video / audio data input as a processing target can be transmitted with appropriate additional information added. That is, as long as it is input as a processing target, there is no restriction on adding additional information to video / audio data, and higher versatility than before can be obtained. Further, for example, for broadcasters and video / audio data providers such as video / audio source package media producers, the equipment environment for creating additional information and adding it to video / audio data There is also a benefit that there is no need to arrange.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment) will be described.
Here, as the present embodiment, for example, on the premise that it is used indoors such as a house, an information transmission / reception system capable of transmitting / receiving information via the Internet between the base station device and the monitor device, and these on the Internet Thus, a network system including a translation server interposed when transmitting content data (video / audio data) from the base station apparatus to the monitor apparatus is taken as an example.

First, the configuration concept of an information transmission / reception system including a set of a base station apparatus and a monitor apparatus as described above in the network system of the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The information transmission / reception system according to the present embodiment includes the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 shown in FIG. 1 and is used, for example, indoors at home. The base station device 1 and the monitor device 2 can communicate with each other as will be described later.

The base station apparatus 1 is fixedly installed at an appropriate place in a home, for example. It has a function of receiving and selecting a television broadcast and demodulating it to obtain video / audio information.
For this reason, the base station apparatus 1 can be connected to an antenna ANT for receiving a television broadcast corresponding to the television broadcast receiving function. Then, the broadcast signal received from the antenna ANT is selected and demodulated to obtain video / audio information as a television signal. The television signal is converted into video / audio data that has been compression-encoded by a predetermined method.

  In addition, the base station apparatus 1 of the present embodiment also includes, for example, a video input terminal. For example, a video / audio signal input to the video input terminal from an external AV device is acquired as video / audio information, Similarly to the above, it can be converted into compressed / encoded video / audio data.

  Furthermore, the base station apparatus 1 also has an Internet (network) connection function. Thereby, the base station apparatus 1 can access and communicate with a required terminal via the Internet.

The base station apparatus 1 can first transmit and output the compression-coded video / audio data obtained as described above as radio waves. That is, the base station apparatus 1 can wirelessly transmit various content information such as television broadcast images received and selected, video / audio input from AV equipment, and image information as interface images including Internet images. Has been. Various data other than image information can be transmitted and output wirelessly. The information transmitted from the base station apparatus 1 in this way can be received by the monitor apparatus 2 described below.
In addition, the base station device 1 and the monitor device 2 can transmit and receive commands through this wireless communication. Thereby, the base station apparatus 1 can be controlled by the monitor apparatus 2, and conversely, the monitor apparatus 2 can be controlled from the base station apparatus 1.

  Here, the above-described wireless communication is, for example, actually specified as a communicable distance within a range of about 30 m. That is, this wireless communication should be employed when the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 are based on a usage environment in a relatively close distance such as the same house. Therefore, hereinafter, this wireless communication is also referred to as local communication because it is local communication with a limited communication distance when compared with communication such as the Internet.

The monitor device 2 is assumed to have a size and shape so that the user can carry it indoors, for example.
The monitor device 2 can receive a signal wirelessly transmitted as a radio wave from the base station device 1 as described above and input it to the inside. For example, when the input received signal is content information based on video / audio data in a compression encoding format, video / audio data is obtained by performing a decoding process.

  The monitor device 2 includes a display unit 27 configured by a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), for example. The video information in the content information obtained as described above is displayed on the display unit 27 as an image. Let That is, the monitor device 2 displays and outputs the television broadcast video / audio information received and selected on the base station device 1 side, the video / audio information input and acquired from the AV device, and the interface image including the Internet image. Be able to. Further, by providing an audio information output function including the speaker 29, for example, audio of video / audio information and audio corresponding to an operation on an interface image can be output.

In addition, a touch panel 30a is attached to a display portion as the display unit 27, and operation information is generated by detecting an operation on the touch panel 30a.
The operation information for the touch panel 30a is wirelessly transmitted from the antenna 26 to the base station apparatus 1 as necessary, and the base station apparatus 1 executes a required control process based on the received information. To be done. By performing such operations including transmission and reception, the television receiver can be switched between the monitor function and the Internet function, the television broadcast channel can be selected, and the external video / audio source can be selected. It is possible to do.

In this way, the base station apparatus 1 acquires content information that can be acquired from the surroundings, such as acquiring video / audio information from a television broadcast or an external AV device, and further transmitting and transmitting the acquired content information. It has a function as an interface for transmission to the monitor device.
In addition, the monitor device 2 has a function as a user interface that presents the video / audio information acquired by the base station device 1 to the user by an image and sound, and receives a user operation input to the system.

  In this embodiment, the monitor device 2 is also provided with an Internet connection function. That is, as an information transmission / reception system, the base station device 1 and the monitor device 2 can execute information communication using two communication networks, that is, local communication that is wireless communication using the above-described radio waves and communication using the Internet connection. Is done. In the present embodiment, the content information is transmitted from the base station apparatus 1 to the monitor apparatus 2 between the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 by Internet communication as well as the local communication. The command can be sent and received.

In addition, as described above, the information transmission / reception system (base station apparatus 1, monitor apparatus 2) of the present embodiment has a function of connecting to the Internet (network), so that the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 are connected to each other. Internet use other than data communication is also possible.
For example, it is possible to browse a Web content by accessing a Web site on the Internet, and to send and receive e-mails.
For this purpose, application software for browsing the website and application software such as a so-called mailer (herein also referred to as a network application) having an e-mail transmission / reception function are provided for the information transmission / reception system of the present embodiment. Just install it.
In the case of the present embodiment, since both the base station device 1 and the monitor device 2 have the Internet connection function, the network application such as the above-mentioned Web site browsing function and the e-mail transmission / reception function is the base station. It can be installed and executed on either the device 1 or the monitor device 2.
When the network application is installed in the base station apparatus 1, the network application operates on the base station apparatus 1 side, and access to the website and transmission / reception of e-mail are executed. Then, the base station apparatus 1 transmits and outputs a GUI image of the network application to the monitor apparatus 2. On the monitor device 2 side, a GUI image of the network application is displayed and output, and for example, an operation on the GUI image can be performed. In response to the GUI operation performed on the monitor device 2 side, command communication is performed between the monitor device 2 and the base station device 1, thereby controlling the operation of the network application on the base station device 1 side. The Rukoto.
If the network application is installed in the monitor device 2, the operation of the network application is executed only on the monitor device 2 side. That is, the monitor device 2 alone can access a website, send and receive e-mails, and the like.

In addition to the information transmission / reception system including the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 described above, a network system shown in FIG. 2 is constructed as the present embodiment by installing a translation server on the Internet.
In this case, the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 are both connected to the Internet 100. Thereby, communication for video / audio data transmission / reception can be performed between the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 via the Internet. Further, as understood from the above description, in the communication via the Internet, the physical distance between the terminals is not limited as long as the environment is connectable to the Internet. Therefore, in this embodiment, as a usage form of the information transmission / reception system, the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 are installed and used in areas remote from each other. In this case, the base station device 1 is used in the country A, and the monitor device 2 is used in the country B. That is, the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 are used in different countries as areas that are remote from each other. In this case, it is assumed that the languages used in Country A and Country B are different. Language A is used in country A, and language B is used in country B.

An example of use of the network system of the present embodiment and a schematic operation example will be described with reference to FIG. The order of the operation procedure here is indicated by a natural number described in a white circular frame in FIG.
Here, for example, a user who is assumed to be using the monitor device 2 wants to output and view the video / audio information that can be acquired on the base station device side by the monitor device 2, and performs a predetermined operation for this purpose. Suppose that it performed with respect to the monitor apparatus 2. FIG. In response to this operation, the monitor apparatus 2 transmits a command (data transmission request command) requesting transmission of video / audio data to the base station apparatus 1 as a transmission destination via the Internet.

The base station apparatus 1 that has received the data transmission request command via the Internet transmits and outputs the requested video / audio data via the Internet as shown in step 2 as a response to this command.
At this time, for example, the base station apparatus 1 executes a control process for acquiring the video / audio data specified by the data transmission request command. For example, when the video / audio data specified by the data transmission request command is a television broadcast using a predetermined broadcast channel, control is performed so that the specified broadcast channel is selected by the built-in television tuner. Execute. Then, video / audio data of the television broadcast broadcast on the broadcast channel selected in this way is transmitted via the Internet. In this case, the transmission data is assumed to be in the form of stream data by compression / encoded video / audio data. That is, it takes the form of streaming transmission on a so-called network.
However, the video / audio data transmitted in this case is not sent back as a response directly to the monitor device 2 via the Internet. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the base station apparatus 1 transmits video / audio data that should be transmitted to the monitor apparatus 2 to the translation server 3 on the Internet.

  For this purpose, for example, an address (for example, URL (Uniform Resource Locator)) of the translation server 3 on the Internet is registered in advance in the base station apparatus 1. When the base station apparatus 1 transmits the video / audio data to the translation server 3 as a process in response to the reception of the data transmission request command, first, the base station apparatus 1 first sends the translation server 3 registered as described above. Transmission processing is executed with the address as the destination. In addition, as a format for transmitting the video / audio data to the translation server 3, the original transmission destination of the video / audio data is the monitor device 2 that has transmitted the data transmission request command in the previous procedure 1. Information (transmission destination information) is defined to be stored in, for example, a packet header and transmitted.

Here, the video / audio data transmitted from the base station apparatus 1 is content assumed to be viewed in, for example, country A. Therefore, the content can be viewed by a person who understands language A. It is produced on the premise of doing. Therefore, with regard to the voice data, the speech voice that is heard when the data is reproduced and output is mainly in the language A.
In this case, the translation server 3 receives and acquires the video / audio data stream-transmitted in the above procedure 2. In response to this, the translation server 3 creates the translation metadata as the procedure 3. To do. That is, the translation server 3 performs speech recognition in the language A on the utterance content that can be heard when the audio data among the video / audio data to be received and acquired is reproduced, and the result of the speech recognition On the basis of the above, data obtained by translating the utterance content into language B is generated. The translation data obtained in this way is treated as metadata with respect to the original video / audio data, and is therefore referred to as translation metadata in this specification.
Also, the translation metadata format in the present embodiment is one of the following two. That is, one is voice data (so-called “dubbing voice data”) in which so-called dubbed voice is recorded by replacing the utterance portion in the language A of the original voice data with the utterance translated in the language B. Or it is set as what is called caption data which synthesize | combines and displays with respect to an image the speech part by the language A of the original audio | voice data as a character by the language B, etc.

  In step 4, the translation server 3 adds the translation metadata generated as described above to the original received / acquired video / audio data. Then, the video / audio data to which the translation metadata is added is transmitted and output via the Internet by streaming transmission in the same manner as the transmission output from the base station apparatus 1. The video / audio data with translation metadata transmitted and output in this way is set as the transmission destination by the monitor device 2 that has transmitted the data transmission request command in the previous procedure 1. For example, as described above, the transmission destination setting can be performed based on transmission destination information transmitted from the base station apparatus 1 together with video / audio data.

The monitor device 2 receives and acquires the video / audio data with the translation metadata from the translation server 3 as a response result to the data transmission request command in the previous procedure 1. Then, as procedure 5, monitor output is performed for the video / audio data with the translation metadata.
Here, as described above, since the video / audio data with the translation metadata is transmitted by streaming, the monitor device 2 decodes the video / audio data as the streaming data as the procedure 5 described above. The process is executed to reproduce and output as an image / sound whose reproduction time axis is synchronized.

  Also, for example, when an instruction to reproduce and output translation metadata is obtained in response to a user operation or the like, the translation metadata is separated and extracted from the video / audio data and decoded, and the translation metadata together with the video / audio data is decoded. Data is also reproduced and output. When the translation metadata is dubbed audio data, the dubbed audio data is reproduced and output so that the reproduction time axis is synchronized with the reproduced image of the video data, instead of the original audio data in the video / audio data. . When the translation metadata is subtitle data, the subtitle data is reproduced so that the subtitle is synthesized and displayed on the reproduced image of the video data according to a predetermined display mode.

  Thus, in this embodiment, in the case where the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 are used in different languages of countries A and B, respectively, the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus The translation server 3 is interposed for transmission / reception of video / audio data to / from 2 via the Internet. As a result, even if the video / audio data of the content content in the language A is transmitted from the base station device 1, the monitor device 2 receives and acquires the content of the video / audio data to which the information translated in the language B is added. Can be reproduced and output. That is, the user using the monitor device 2 can view the content in the language A transmitted from the base station device 1 in a form that can be understood in the language B.

  Conventionally, the side that operates television broadcasts and the side that produces video / audio sources as package media such as DVDs create data corresponding to translation metadata at the pre-editing stage. It was added to video / audio data. For this reason, it is easy to understand by taking television broadcasting as an example, but as a practical matter, it is impossible to perform production and editing work to add translated metadata-like video / audio data to almost all programs. There will be. In particular, when the content of video / audio data is a live program that requires real-time performance such as news and sports, it is practical to add additional information such as translation data to the video / audio data. It becomes impossible.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, additional information creation / multiplexing processing for video / audio data in language A is performed by translating video / audio data transmitted from base station apparatus 1 in translation server 3. It is performed by real-time processing after acquisition.
This means that video / audio data to which translation metadata translated into language B is always added can be obtained for video / audio data of content contents in language A input to translation server 3. means. That is, the user of the monitor device 2 can always enjoy and view the video / audio data transmitted from the base station device 1 as content with translation information added thereto.
Then, the translation server 3 of the present embodiment receives and inputs streaming video / audio data to generate and add translation metadata (additional information), but the video / audio data to which the translation metadata is added. Even when sending the message, the streaming transmission format at the time of reception acquisition is maintained. Therefore, as long as the processing of the translation server 3 is reasonably fast, the real-time property of the video / audio data transmitted through the route of the base station device 1 → the translation server 3 → the monitor device 2 can be maintained. As a result, for example, in the case of a television broadcast program, translation metadata is not particularly distinguished even for live programs such as those described above, as well as programs produced with editing work such as dramas. Can be obtained as content to which is added. This can be said to be a great merit in consideration of what was impossible in the past.
Further, if the creator side who operates the television broadcasting as described above or produces the video / audio source as the package media, each of these producer side, for example, for the video / audio data, There is no need to prepare a facility environment for creating and adding additional information such as translation metadata. In contrast, in the present embodiment, it can be said that the generation and addition of translation metadata are performed collectively by the translation server.

  Hereinafter, a configuration example for realizing the operation in the system of the present embodiment described with reference to FIG. 2 will be described. First, referring to FIG. 3, the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 An example of the internal configuration will be described.

  First, the base station apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 3 includes a television tuner (TV tuner) 11 having reception, channel selection, and demodulation functions corresponding to a predetermined television broadcast. In the TV tuner 11, a broadcast wave received by the antenna ANT is input, and channel selection and demodulation processing are executed so that a video / audio signal of a designated channel is obtained, for example, under the control of the control unit 15. The video / audio signal obtained in this way is transferred to the video / audio encoder 12 via, for example, the internal data bus 19.

  The video / audio input unit 13 is a part for inputting a video / audio signal output from an external AV device and capturing it as video / audio data. For example, in practice, a predetermined number of input terminals corresponding to a predetermined signal system for inputting video / audio signals output from an AV device are provided, and video / audio signals input from these terminals are provided. For example, a selector for selecting a video / audio signal designated by the control unit 15 is provided. In addition, when the input video / audio signal is an analog signal, an A / D converter that converts the input signal into a digital signal is provided. The video / audio data output from the video / audio input unit 13 is also transferred to the video / audio encoder 12 via the internal data bus 19 under the control of the control unit 15.

The video / audio encoder 12 receives the video / audio data transferred via the internal data bus 19 as described above, and is compressed video / audio data in a format that is compression-encoded according to, for example, a predetermined compression encoding method. Is encoded and converted. The compression encoding method in this case is not particularly limited, but under the present circumstances, for example, it is conceivable to adopt a category in the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) method.
The compressed video / audio data output from the video / audio encoder 12 is transferred to the local communication unit 17 or the network interface 18 described below under the control of the control unit 15.

  As described above with reference to FIG. 1, in the information transmission / reception system of this embodiment, the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 are both forms of local communication (for example, short-range wireless communication) and network communication via the Internet. Communication between the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 can be performed by any of the local communication and the network communication. It has become.

The local communication unit 17 executes communication processing according to a predetermined communication protocol employed for local communication as the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, TCP / IP is adopted as a communication protocol for local communication, which is merely an example. That is, although it is local communication, the communication protocol is the same as that of the Internet. TCP / IP has the advantage of being easy to apply because it is already widely used on the Internet.
For example, at the time of transmission, processing such as packetization is performed so that the transmission / reception according to TCP / IP is possible, and for example, predetermined carrier modulation is performed and transmitted as radio waves. At the time of reception, first, transmission information transmitted as a radio wave is received and demodulated into information in units of packets. Then, actual data such as commands and content information is obtained by executing processing such as packetization in accordance with the TCP / IP communication protocol.
Here, the local communication is radio communication, but the radio communication method is not particularly limited. Further, as long as the communication between the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 can be satisfactorily performed at a short distance, wireless communication such as infrared communication may be used. You may comprise so that communication by the predetermined communication system by wire is also possible.

Communication via the Internet (network) 100 is performed by the network interface 18. As is well known, the communication protocol by the Internet is also TCP / IP. Therefore, the network interface 18 executes processing so that communication via the Internet according to TCP / IP is performed.
Also in this case, at the time of transmission, processing such as packetization is performed so that transmission / reception according to TCP / IP is possible, and transmission output is sent to the target destination terminal on the Internet 100. Do. Further, at the time of reception, predetermined demodulation processing such as packetization is performed on information transmitted from the transmission source on the Internet 100, and actual data of commands and content information is obtained in the same manner as described above.
Note that the network interface 18 may be configured to be compatible with a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark). If this configuration is adopted, a so-called broadband line represented by xDSL (Digital Subscriber Line), FTTH (Fiber To The Home), CATV (Cable Television), etc. can be used for connection to the Internet. In addition, if the configuration is provided with a modem, it is possible to connect to the Internet using a telephone line.

As described above, the compressed video / audio data compressed and encoded by the video / audio encoder 12 should be transmitted and output to the monitor device 2. When the compressed video / audio data is transmitted to the monitor device 2 by local communication, the control unit 15 inputs the compressed video / audio data to the local communication unit 17 via the internal data bus 19. Control. In the local communication unit 17, the input compressed video / audio data is subjected to processing such as packetization and carrier modulation as described above, and is transmitted as a radio wave.
Further, when transmitting the compressed video / audio data to the monitor device 2 by communication via the Internet, the control unit 15 controls to input the compressed video / audio data to the network interface 18 via the internal data bus 19. To do. The network interface 18 is also configured to packetize the input compressed video / audio data as described above, and transmit and output it to a target transmission destination via the Internet 100. In addition, when the compressed video / audio data has a time-series property (temporal continuity) like a normal video signal or audio signal, the transmission data is referred to as so-called streaming data. It is also possible to send it out as data with preserved characteristics. For this purpose, for example, the control unit 15 controls the transfer timing of compressed video / audio data from the video / audio encoder 12 to the network interface 18 and the packet transmission timing in the network interface 18.

  As understood from the above description, the control unit 15 executes various control processes in the base station apparatus 1. The control unit 15 includes a microcomputer composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM, RAM, and the like. As is well known, the CPU executes processing in accordance with programs stored in the ROM and various setting information. The RAM is an area where a program to be executed by the CPU is expanded. Further, it is used as a calculation work area when the CPU executes processing.

  Note that, for example, a configuration in which a hard disk drive (HDD) or the like is provided for the base station apparatus 1 and content data such as video / audio data can be stored in the HDD is also conceivable. In such a configuration, content data stored in the HDD can also be transmitted and output to the monitor device 2 side via local communication or the Internet.

3 also includes a local communication unit 24 and a network interface 25 as means for performing communication with the outside.
The local communication unit 24 and the network interface 25 may have the same configuration as the local communication unit 17 and the network interface 18 on the base station device 1 side described above, for example.

  Here, for example, when video / audio data (compressed video / audio data) compressed and encoded as content information is transmitted and output from the local communication unit 17 on the base station device 1 side, the local communication unit 24 of the monitor device 2 Then, the transmitted compressed video / audio data is extracted by the reception demodulation process.

Similarly, when compressed video / audio data is transmitted as content information via the Internet, the network interface 25 on the monitor device 2 side receives this and performs demodulation processing such as unpacking. Extract compressed video / audio data.
The compressed video / audio data extracted by the local communication unit 24 or the network interface 25 as described above is transferred to the video / audio decoder 21 via the internal data bus 29 under the control of the control unit 22. The

  For example, when the compressed video / audio data is transmitted from the translation server 3 via the Internet as described with reference to FIG. 2, translation metadata is multiplexed on the compressed video / audio data. When support for reproducing and outputting the translation metadata is obtained, the network interface 25, in accordance with control of the control unit 22, stores a packet storing translation metadata from streaming data of video / audio data transmitted as a packet. And the translation metadata is separated and extracted by extracting the actual data portion of the translation metadata from the packet. The translation metadata separated and extracted in this way is transferred to the metadata processing unit 32.

  The video / audio decoder 21 receives the compressed video / audio data transferred as described above, executes a decoding process according to the format of the compressed video / audio data, and decompresses the video signal. Data and audio signal data are obtained. Under the control of the control unit 22, among the video signal data and audio signal data thus obtained, the video signal data is transferred to the display control unit 26, and the audio signal data is sent to the audio processing unit 28. In response.

  When the video signal data is transferred from the video / audio decoder 21, the display control unit 26 performs signal processing for displaying the video signal data on the display unit 27 and drive control for the display unit 27. Execute. For example, when a GUI image for a touch panel operation or the like is displayed and output, the display control unit 26 generates image data as a GUI image in response to an instruction from the control unit 22. The control process is executed so as to be displayed as an image. Further, here, the image signal processing for displaying the video signal data transferred from the video / audio decoder 21 as a main image and displaying the GUI image portion superimposed on a required position in the main image is also performed here. It shall be executed in

  The display unit 27 is configured by a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and is provided such that the display screen unit is exposed on the entire surface of the monitor device as shown in FIG. When the display control unit 26 executes the operation as described above, for example, a video of the video / audio data acquired and transmitted on the base station apparatus 1 side or the like on the display screen as the display unit 27 A GUI image or the like is displayed and output.

  The audio signal processing unit 28 inputs the audio signal data transferred from the video / audio decoder 21 and executes necessary digital audio signal processing, D / A conversion, amplification processing, and the like. Output audio.

Here, the decoding processing in the video / audio decoder is targeted for compressed video / audio data, but the compressed video / audio data here is, for example, video signal data and audio signal data according to the MPEG system. The video signal data and the audio signal data are compressed and encoded so that the reproduction time axes are synchronized. For example, only the video signal data is compressed and the audio signal data is compressed and encoded. It can be configured to be compatible with anything. Furthermore, it is possible to cope with decoding processing of image data in a predetermined format as a still image.
In this embodiment, video / audio data that is compression-encoded so that the playback time axis is synchronized with video / audio as described above is transmitted as streaming data and has temporal continuity. And is required to be played. When such video / audio data is received on the monitor device 2 side, the video / audio decoder 21 decodes the video output and the audio output so that the video output and the audio output are reproduced in synchronization with the reproduction time. To be executed. In addition, the control unit 22 performs a decoding process timing in the video / audio decoder 21 so that the video signal data and audio signal data decoded in this way are reproduced without interruption. The transfer timing of the decoded data to the display control unit 26 or the audio processing unit 28 is controlled.

Further, the metadata processing unit 32 performs necessary data processing for properly reproducing and outputting the input translation metadata.
If the translation metadata is dubbed audio data, this dubbed audio data is also compressed and encoded so that the video data and playback time axis are synchronized in the same way as the audio data of the original video / audio data. It has become a format. In this case, as the processing of the metadata processing unit 32, for example, under the control of the control unit 22, the decoding processing is executed in synchronization with the reproduction time axis of the video data decoded by the video / audio decoder 21. To do. As this decoding process, the dubbed audio data may be transferred to the video / audio decoder 21, and the video / audio decoder 21 may execute a decoding process in which the video data and the reproduction time axis are synchronized. . Then, the audio signal data of the dubbed audio data obtained by decoding in this way is transferred to the audio processing unit 28 instead of the audio data of the original video / audio data. The audio processing unit 28 performs necessary signal processing on the input audio signal data and finally outputs it as audio from the speaker 29, so that the monitor device 2 displays an image of the original video / audio data. While being displayed on the unit 27, the dubbing sound based on the dubbing sound data is output in a state where the reproduction time is synchronized with the image.

When the translation metadata is caption data, the metadata processing unit 32 performs a decoding process corresponding to the format of caption data that is the translation metadata. By this decoding process, subtitle image data to be synthesized and displayed with respect to the original video / audio data image is obtained. The caption data has a structure including time information indicating display output timing (reproduction time) for the video data (main image) of the original video / audio data, for example. The metadata processing unit 32 synchronizes with the transfer timing of the video data as the main image transferred from the video / audio decoder 21 to the display processing unit 26 so that the display output timing according to the time information is obtained. The subtitle image data that is the decoded output is transferred to the display processing unit 26 at such a timing. The transfer timing of subtitle image data based on time information in the metadata processing unit 32 may be controlled by the control unit 22 based on the time information.
Then, the display processing unit 26 executes the image composition process for compositing the video data as the main image input as described above so as to superimpose the caption image data, and then obtains the result by this composition process. An image is displayed on the display unit 27 by the video data.

Further, the operation input unit 30 shown in the monitor device 2 of FIG. 3 serves as a user interface related to operation input with respect to the operation elements, operation input units, and these operation elements and operation input units provided in the monitor apparatus 2. A device for generating an operation command corresponding to the performed operation and outputting the operation command to the control unit 22 is collectively shown. Accordingly, the operation input unit 30 includes a touch panel 30 a provided for the display unit 27.
Although not shown in particular, a remote controller attached as a separate body from the monitor device 2 and a configuration for receiving the command signal transmitted from the remote controller and generating the operation command can also be used. An input unit 30 is included.

  In response to the operation command output from the operation input unit 30, the control unit 22 executes control of each unit so that an operation corresponding to the operation command is obtained. For example, if an operation for controlling the brightness of the display unit 27 as an LCD is performed as an operation completed in the monitor device 2, for example, the control unit 22 controls the display control unit 26 to control the backlight of the LCD. The amount of light control is executed.

  Further, for example, it is configured such that various operations of the base station device 1 can be controlled by an operation on the operation input unit 30 of the monitor device 2. As an example, it is assumed that an operation for switching the broadcast channel selected for reception by the TV tuner 11 of the base station apparatus 1 is performed as an operation on the operation input unit 30. The control unit 22 having input an operation command corresponding to this operation instructs the local communication unit 24 or the network interface 25 to transmit a channel switching request command. At this time, if communication with the base station apparatus 1 is established by local communication, the control unit 22 instructs the local communication unit 24 to transmit a command for channel switching. On the other hand, if it is established by communication via the Internet, an instruction is given to the network interface 25.

  Under the control of the control unit 22 described above, a channel switching request command is transmitted from the local communication unit 24 or the network interface 25 to the base station device 1, and the base station device 1 transmits this command to the local communication unit 17. Alternatively, it is received and demodulated by the network interface 18 and transferred to the control unit 15. The controller 15 controls the TV tuner 11 so that the channel designated by this command is switched. As a result, the video / audio output on the monitor device 2 side is switched to the video / audio of the channel designated by the user operation instead of the video / audio of the broadcast channel that has been output so far.

  The control unit 22 executes various control processes in the monitor device 2. The control unit 22 also includes a microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM, RAM, and the like.

Note that the base station apparatus 1 and the monitor apparatus 2 as the information transmission / reception system of the present embodiment have a function of connecting to the Internet. Therefore, it is possible to use the Internet other than data communication between the base station device 1 and the monitor device 2 by using this Internet connection function.
For example, it is possible to browse a Web content by accessing a Web site on the Internet, and to send and receive e-mails. For this purpose, application software for browsing the website and application software such as a so-called mailer (herein also referred to as a network application) having an e-mail transmission / reception function are provided for the information transmission / reception system of the present embodiment. Just install it.
In the case of the present embodiment, since both the base station device 1 and the monitor device 2 have the Internet connection function, the network application such as the above-mentioned Web site browsing function and the e-mail transmission / reception function is the base station. It can be installed and executed on either the device 1 or the monitor device 2.
When the network application is installed in the base station apparatus 1, the network application operates on the base station apparatus 1 side, and access to the website and transmission / reception of e-mail are executed. Then, the base station apparatus transmits and outputs a GUI image of the network application to the monitor apparatus 2. On the monitor device 2 side, a GUI image of the network application is displayed and output, and for example, an operation on the GUI image can be performed. In response to the GUI operation performed on the monitor device 2 side, command communication is performed between the monitor device 2 and the base station device 1, thereby controlling the operation of the network application on the base station device 1 side. The Rukoto.
If the network application is installed in the monitor device 2, the operation of the network application is executed only on the monitor device 2 side. That is, the monitor device 2 alone can access a website, send and receive e-mails, and the like.

Next, the translation server 3 will be described.
FIG. 4 shows an internal configuration example of the translation server 3. The translation server 3 shown in this figure includes a reception processing unit 41, an audio data extraction unit 42, a metadata creation unit 43, a synthesis processing unit 44, and a transmission processing unit 45. Each of these units is configured as an independent device unit or a circuit module in terms of hardware.
In the reception processing unit 41, video / audio data (compressed video / audio data) stream-transmitted from the base station apparatus 1 via the Internet 100 is transmitted to an Internet communication protocol (TCP / IP: Transmission Control Protocol / A process for receiving and acquiring is executed according to the Internet Protocol. That is, for example, video / audio data transmitted by a sequence in packet units is depacketized to obtain video / audio stream data. The video / audio stream data is transferred to the audio data extraction unit 42.

The audio data extraction unit 42 extracts audio data from the transferred video / audio data (stream data). However, the audio data extraction unit 42 does not separate the audio data from the transferred original video / audio data (stream data). That is, as the result of the audio data extraction processing by the audio data extraction unit 42, the original video / audio data and the audio data in this video / audio data are obtained.
The audio data separated from the original video / audio data is transferred to the metadata creation unit 43. The original video / audio data itself is transferred to the synthesis processing unit 44 at a predetermined timing.

The metadata creation unit 43 is a part for creating the translation metadata described above with reference to FIG. 2 using the transferred audio data. If the translation server 3 shown in this figure is the one in the network system shown in FIG. 2, the language A speech data is input to the metadata creating unit 43. Then, translation metadata in the language B is created using the speech data in the language A. That is, the voice-over voice data is created by replacing the utterance content in the language A with respect to the input voice data by the language B. Alternatively, subtitle data is generated so that the translation result into the language B of the utterance content in the language A in the input voice data is displayed as a subtitle.
Then, the translation metadata created in this way is sequentially transferred to the composition processing unit 44 at a predetermined timing.

  The original video / audio data and the translation metadata corresponding to the video / audio data are input to the composition processing unit 44. Then, the synthesis processing unit 44 executes a process for synthesizing the structure of stream data, which is the original video / audio data input, by multiplexing the translation metadata. As described with reference to FIG. 3, the reproduction time (reproduction output timing) for the original video / audio data is defined regardless of whether the translation metadata is dubbed audio data or caption data. For this reason, the synthesis output position of the translation metadata with respect to the original video / audio data is controlled so that reproduction output according to the prescribed reproduction time is possible.

  The video / audio data synthesized with the translation metadata by the synthesis processing unit 44 is transferred to the transmission processing unit 45. The transmission processing unit 45 performs streaming transmission of the transferred video / audio data via the Internet 100 according to a communication protocol corresponding to the Internet. The transmission destination of the video / audio data at this time is the monitor device 2 that has transmitted the data transmission request command, as described with reference to FIG. That is, the address of the monitor device 2 is, for example, transmitted together with the video / audio data transmitted to the translation server 3 as the transmission destination information described above. In the transmission processing unit 45, the transmission destination information is separated and extracted, and the video / audio data is transmitted with the address specified by the transmission destination information as the transmission destination.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of the metadata creation unit 43 corresponding to the case of creating dubbed voice data as translation metadata. In this case, as shown in the figure, a speech recognition processing unit 51, a translation processing unit 52, a speech conversion processing unit 53, and a speech synthesis processing unit 54 are provided. In addition, each part which comprises these metadata production | generation parts 43 is also an independent apparatus or a circuit module, respectively.
The voice data extracted by the voice data extraction unit 42 is first input to the voice recognition processing unit 51. Further, the data is branched and input to the speech synthesis processing unit 54.
The voice recognition processing unit 51 performs, for example, acoustic analysis on voice data, and extracts a voice component that is supposed to be spoken by a human. Then, according to a predetermined speech recognition algorithm, for example, speech recognition processing is performed for each word as the language A included in the speech component, and the speech recognition processing result is output as speech recognition data. As can be seen from the above description, the speech recognition data is obtained by speech recognition of speech speech as language A using language A.

  The speech recognition data in the language A output from the speech recognition processing unit 51 is transferred to the translation processing unit 52. For example, the translation processing unit 52 includes a dictionary in which language sentences of language A and language B are associated with each other, and searches for the language sentence of language B associated with the language sentence of language A indicated by the speech recognition data. Thus, the language sentence of the language B searched in this way is connected according to a predetermined rule. The language B language sentence information obtained in this way has contents obtained by translating the utterance contents of the speech data of the language A into the language B. This is translated into the language B and transferred to the speech conversion processing unit 53.

  The voice conversion processing unit 53 executes a process for converting the language sentence information in the language B indicated by the input translation data into voice signal data. In performing this conversion processing, the voice can be made to have a voice quality equivalent to the voice of the original voice data based on, for example, the frequency characteristics of the voice of the voice of the original voice data. . Then, the speech signal data (translated speech signal data) is transferred to the speech synthesis processing unit 54.

The speech synthesis processing unit 54 receives the original speech data in the language A from the speech data extraction unit 42 together with the translated speech signal data. The speech synthesis processing unit 54 first deletes the uttered speech component from the original speech data by performing band filter processing on the original speech data. Then, the component of the translated speech signal data is synthesized with the speech data from which the utterance speech component has been deleted. At this time, the synthesis process is performed so that the utterance content of the deleted utterance speech component and the translation utterance content of the translated speech signal data substantially correspond in time.
By such processing, as voice data, dubbed voice data in which only the spoken voice is dubbed from language A to language B is obtained from the original voice data. Then, this dubbed voice data is transferred as translation data to the synthesis processing unit 44 shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of the metadata creation unit 43 corresponding to the case where caption data is created as translation metadata. In this case, as shown in the figure, a speech recognition processing unit 51 and a translation processing unit 52 are illustrated. And a caption data conversion processing unit 55. In this case as well, these units are independent devices or circuit modules.
Also in this case, the voice data extracted by the voice data extraction unit 42 is first input to the voice recognition processing unit 51. Note that the speech recognition processing unit 51 and the translation processing unit 52 to which the speech recognition data transferred and output from the speech recognition processing unit 51 are input may have the same configuration as in FIG. The description here is omitted.

The translation data in the language B obtained by the translation processing unit 52 is transferred to the caption data conversion processing unit 55.
The caption data conversion processing unit 55 generates caption data based on the contents of the input translation data. Here, as the subtitle data, for example, it is conceivable that the text information defines the reproduction output timing for the original audio data. Alternatively, it is conceivable to use image data to be synthesized with the main image, which defines the reproduction output timing for the original audio data.
When subtitle data is used as text data, processing for converting the content of input translation data into text data in language B is executed. When subtitle data is used as image data, first, text data is generated from the contents of translation data, and character image data corresponding to the text data is obtained. Then, using this character image data, image data of a display mode in which characters are arranged so as to be read as subtitles is generated.
Then, the caption data generated in this way is transferred to the composition processing unit 44 as translation metadata.

FIG. 7 shows another configuration example as the translation server 3. In this figure, the same parts as those in FIG.
In this figure, for example, three metadata creation units 43-1, 43-2, and 43-3 are provided as metadata creation units. In the case of this configuration, the metadata creation units 43-1, 43-2, and 43-3 are all configured to receive audio data in the language A, but the metadata creation unit 43-1 The translation metadata translated from A to language B is generated and output. The metadata creation unit 43-2 generates and outputs translation metadata translated from the language A into the language C. Then, the metadata creation unit 43-3 generates and outputs translation metadata translated from the language A into the language D. That is, the metadata creation units 43-1, 43-2, and 43-3 generate and output translation metadata translated into different languages.

In the case of adopting such a configuration, for example, information specifying the translation language (translation language designation information) is included as the format of the data transmission request command transmitted from the monitor device 2 in the procedure 1 shown in FIG. To do. The translation language may be designated by the user by operating the monitor device 2, for example. When the base station apparatus 1 receives this command and transmits the video / audio data to the translation server 3, for example, the translation language designation information for the header of the packet for transmitting the video / audio data. Will be stored.
When the translation server 3 receives the video / audio data, the translation server 3 recognizes the designated translation language with reference to, for example, translation language designation information extracted from the packet. And with respect to the metadata preparation part (any one of 43-1, 43-2, 43-3) which translates the audio | voice data extracted by the audio | voice data extraction part 42 into the translation language recognized as mentioned above. To drink and be transferred. For example, if the translation language indicated by the translation language designation information is language C, the audio data is transferred to the metadata creation unit 43-2, and translation metadata translated into language C is created.

  With this configuration, the user who uses the monitor device 2 is originally a content of video / audio data transmitted from the country A, but for example, a metatranslation translated into a language other than the country B. By adding data, you can enjoy watching in various languages. This way of viewing is also effective for language learning, for example.

In the case of adopting the configuration shown in FIG. 7, as the designation of the translation language for the translation server 3, for example, the monitor device 2 and the translation server 3 directly transmit and receive, whereby the monitor device 2 communicates with the translation server 3. On the other hand, it may be configured to notify and register the translation language.
Further, the number of metadata creation units is not particularly limited, and should be changed as appropriate according to the translation language that actually corresponds. Therefore, with the configuration shown in FIG. 7, the number of translation languages that can be handled can be easily increased by adding the metadata creation unit individually configured for each different translation language. It can be said that the extensibility in this respect is also high.
Further, in the case where the translation server 3 includes a plurality of metadata creation units as shown in FIG. 7, as illustrated in FIG. It should not be limited to only one language.
In other words, for example, it is assumed that the language of the input voice data is one of the two languages A and B, and the translation language is any one of the languages C and D. ,
Language A → Language C
Language B → Language C
Language A → Language D
Language B → Language D
The four translation patterns can be considered. Therefore, it is conceivable to provide four metadata creation units 43 corresponding to this pattern.
In FIG. 7, the metadata creation unit 43 is provided for each translation language. However, in actuality, for example, in one device or circuit module as a metadata creation unit, the translation language is switched. As a result, the functions corresponding to a plurality of translated languages shown in FIG. 7 may be substantially obtained. The same can be said about this point, for example, when the function as the metadata creation unit is configured as a program executed by the computer apparatus.
In addition to the metadata creation unit, processing realized by the computer device executing all or part of the functions of each part forming the translation server 3 illustrated in FIG. 4 or FIG. You may comprise as.

The translation server 3 as a whole includes, for example, a reception processing unit 41, an audio data extraction unit 42, a metadata creation unit 43, a synthesis processing unit 44, and a transmission processing unit 45. When configured as a device unit, for example, a part or all of these device parts may be connected via a network.
Further, as the metadata creation unit 43, the configuration for generating dubbed audio data as translation metadata and the configuration for generating caption data are separately shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, but one metadata creation is performed. The unit 43 may be configured to generate any translation metadata of dubbed audio data and caption data. In this case, for example, the language designation is performed from the monitor device 2 described with reference to FIG. 7. For example, depending on the user's operation on the monitor device 2, either the dubbed audio data or the caption data for the translation metadata is used. It is possible to specify from the monitor device 2 whether to do this. In response to this designation, the metadata creation unit 43 selects whether to generate dubbed audio data or caption data as translation data. In this way, the user can also select translation metadata (how to output translation information), and entertainment and convenience are further enhanced.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the additional information as this invention is used as translation data, such as dubbing audio | voice data or subtitle data, as additional information, it is not limited to this. In other words, the input video / audio data is reproduced and output and generated based on the contents of the content visually and audibly recognized, and the additional information is output on the side of reproducing the video / audio data. As long as the user can enjoy some kind of benefit. For example, based on the input video / audio data, it is also conceivable to use the data for making the image 3D and outputting it as additional information. In addition, with such additional information, it is not necessary to install the base station device and the monitor device in a particularly remote area.

  In the above embodiment, the video / audio data transmission / reception system in the network system is exemplified by a system including a base station device and a monitor device. However, the present invention is also applicable to transmission / reception systems of other forms. Is to be done. For example, a personal computer or the like may be used instead of the base station device and the monitor device, and in particular, a small size such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) that is more portable and portable than the monitor device. A terminal device may be considered.

It is a figure which shows the basic composition of the information transmission / reception system in the network system as embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the usage example of the network system of embodiment by the operation | movement procedure. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structural example of the base station apparatus and monitor apparatus which comprise an information transmission / reception system. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a translation server. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a metadata production | generation part. It is a block diagram which shows the other structural example of a metadata production | generation part. It is a block diagram which shows the other structural example of a translation server. It is a figure for demonstrating the usage example of the information transmission / reception system in the past.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base station apparatus, 2 Monitor apparatus, 3 Translation server, 11 TV tuner, 12 Video / audio encoder, 13 Video / audio input part, 15 Control part, 17, 24 Local communication part, 18, 25 Network interface, 19, 31 Internal data bus, 21 video / audio decoder, 22 control unit, 26 display control unit, 27 display unit, 28 audio processing unit, 29 speaker, 30 operation input unit, 30a touch panel, 32 metadata processing unit, 41 reception processing unit, 42 voice data extraction unit, 43 metadata creation unit, 44 synthesis processing unit, 45 transmission processing unit, 51 speech recognition processing unit, 52 translation processing unit, 53 speech processing unit, 54 speech synthesis processing unit, 55 subtitle data conversion processing Department, 100 Internet, ANT antenna

Claims (5)

This is obtained by receiving streaming transmission via a predetermined communication network, and inputs video / audio data including at least video data and / or audio data, and is recognized from the input video / audio data. Additional information generating means for generating additional information having predetermined information content based on the content content of
Video / audio data generation for adding the additional information to the input video / audio data and generating video / audio data for transmission to be streamed to a specific terminal device via a predetermined communication network Means,
An information processing apparatus comprising: The additional information generating means includes
Voice recognition means adapted to recognize the utterance content in a predetermined first language as the content content recognition from the audio data of the input video / audio data;
Translation information generating means for generating translation information of contents obtained by translating the recognized utterance contents into a predetermined second language based on the result of recognizing the utterance contents by the voice recognition means as the additional information;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The translation information generation means includes
Generating, as the translation information, audio data in which the utterance content in the audio data of the input video / audio data is translated into a predetermined second language;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. The translation information generation means includes
As the translation information, text information obtained by translating the utterance content in the audio data of the input video / audio data is generated.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2. This is obtained by receiving streaming transmission via a predetermined communication network, and inputs video / audio data including at least video data and / or audio data, and is recognized from the input video / audio data. Additional information generation processing for generating additional information having predetermined information content based on the content content of
Video / audio data generation for adding the additional information to the input video / audio data and generating video / audio data for transmission to be streamed to a specific terminal device via a predetermined communication network Processing,
The information processing method characterized by performing.

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